


Finding Time

by MegaraNoelle



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012), Thor (2011)
Genre: M/M, Movie AU, arena fighting, crazy stuff happens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-06
Updated: 2015-12-11
Packaged: 2017-11-13 15:51:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/505181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaraNoelle/pseuds/MegaraNoelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pre-Avengers. Tony takes a break after fighting Vanko, but trouble doesn't stray too far from Tony Stark. He finds himself in a timeless place where he's forced to team up with a certain trickster. With both determined to escape before death claims them, will Tony be able to make it back to Midgard? Will he be able to help Loki stay sane? Post-Iron Man2&Thor. Slash. Some gore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Branded

**Author's Note:**

> This came from a random dream, and possibly from people watching at a crowded airport. It's really rather scary what happens in my head sometimes. This is Pre-Avengers, but Post-Iron Man 2 and Post-Thor. I will be going into the movie so there will be some spoilers if you haven't seen the movie yet.
> 
> I don't own The Avengers, Loki, Iron Man, Thor, or anything of the like. Just the thoughts inside my head.

Tony rolled his head a few times as he sighed. He glanced at the screen in front of him showing the latest readings from his gauntlet and boot tests. "JARVIS, re-calibrate the sensors and get ready for a reset," Tony called out as he set down the tools, flexing his fingers.

Tony was taking some time for himself, after the whole Vanko and Hammer incident, and working his little used workshop in little summer home off the coast of Italy. He'd be lying if Fury declining him access to his super special boyband didn't smart a little on his ego. How was he supposed to separate Tony Stark from Iron Man. There would be no Iron Man if there was no Tony Stark. Rhodey had given it a good shot, but in the end there was only Tony.

Tony double checked the wires leading from the gauntlets and boots to his arc reactor and took a step back, keeping his feet apart, and raising one hand. The repulsor whined as it charged and suddenly the workshop shook a little. He blinked and glanced at the target wall that JARVIS had assembled, but didn't see anything. The repulsor hadn't released it's shot and he powered down the gauntlet before heading out of the room.

Tony mentally applauded the new, lighter, remodel of the boots as he was easily able to traverse the stairs. As he neared the top and looked out the windows that looked over the balcony, he slowed. The recently sunny skies were now dark as night, the water churning violently, and the clouds seemed to be moving. There were no reports of any kind of tropical storms, hurricanes, even thunderstorms; JARVIS had checked.

"JARVIS, weather lock down," Tony muttered as he took a couple steps closer to the balcony. After a few minutes, and after rain started to pelt the balcony, Tony looked around. "JARVIS?" Nothing was happening and he now noticed that while the lights may have been on, nothing else was working.

Turning around he headed over to the control panel when a crash of glass sent him to his knees, covering his head, as he felt shards crashing against his back along with some rain. Tony quickly turned around and seemed to freeze. He hadn't been expecting to see several figures standing on the balcony, walking through broken windows.

Throwing his hands up he heard the whining charge of the repulsors, aiming at the figures walking towards him. "Not the best move breaking into this house," Tony said. The three figures stopped moving and he thought he heard voices. It was no language that he had ever heard before and he frowned.

Tony opened his mouth to speak again but was stopped when he felt a sharp pain in his neck, eyes widening slightly before they slumped close and he fell to the ground. Before his mind checked out he was aware of being picked up by large calloused hands that felt too cold.

* * *

Tony sucked in a breath and his eyes shot open. He moved his mouth, dry and sticky, and looked around. He wasn't in his mansion anymore. The ceiling and the walls he could see were a dark grey, there was a modicum of light coming into the room, but it felt like he was lying on something moderately soft.

"I had wondered when you awake," a soft voice sounded from across from and Tony sat up quickly, regretting seconds later. He shut his eyes, moaning, and a put hand to his head only to pull it back when he felt that his gauntlets were still on. At least whoever had grabbed him hadn't taken his tech. "I kind of wish you hadn't, the break was becoming quite nice."

Tony turned and saw that there was a cot sitting a few feet away from his. Perched on the edge of the cot was a man with slicked back longer black hair, almost glowing emerald eyes with a thin angular face, and dressed in simple black tunic shirt and black and green pants. Tony blinked a little, waiting for his brain to catch up as the man looked him up and down.

"I suppose we shall see how well you'll fair, perhaps you'll even be able to understand me this time," the man spoke with little interest in his voice, as if he just needed to talk for his own sake.

"Where the hell am I?" Tony's tongue finally caught up. "Who are you?"

"Ah, good, you do speak this language, that will make things easier," the man said, ignoring his questions. They heard some heavy footsteps and they both looked over, Tony noting that it was actually a large cell complete with bars and a view to other occupied cells around them. "Hmm, here they come."

Tony saw the familiar figures from his house coming towards them. He was able to see now that they weren't human, there were taller than him by at least two feet, all their limbs were thick and round, their faces seemed to be in permanent frowns, nose round and large, eyes set in, and mouths protruding outwards with sharp canines visible. He was reminded of pictures of enemies from a coupe of different video games, and he wondered if he wasn't under just dreaming the whole thing.

They opened the cell door and Tony backed up a little on the cot when they walked for him. He heard one of the creatures talk in the same language he heard before and watched as their gazes fell on his chest. One of them reached out for the arc reactor and Tony reacted without hesitation. He grabbed at the wrist and it felt like his face had been hit with a hammer when his head was slammed to the side and he was shoved against the wall. He gasped for breath when thick fingers wrapped around his throat and yelling assaulted his ears.

He tried to buck his body as he kicked at the creatures when they reached for the reactor again. "They want to know what that thing in your chest is," Tony's cellmate spoke above the yelling, still sounding bored.

"Don't take it out," Tony gasped out. "I'll die!" The man repeated his words in their language, at least that's what Tony guessed when they suddenly let him go and pulled away from his chest. His lungs sucked in air as quickly as they could and he blinked his eyes rapidly to get the dark spots out of his vision.

The creatures looked at Tony, but spoke to the other man in the room, realizing that their captive couldn't understand them. "They want you to remove your weapons," green eyes spoke again. "The things on your hands and feet, they need them removed."

"And why would I want to do a thing like that?" Tony rasped out. What he wanted to do was blast them, but his arms and legs were still feeling a bit heavy as the short spurt of adrenaline left his body.

"Either you'll remove it, and get to keep it, or they'll remove it for you," the man told him. "Which means that they shall remove your arms from your shoulders, then find a way to reattach them that will still allow easy access for them. I've seen it done." Tony tensed a little then straightened as he started to reach for the release levers. He put them on the bed and removed the cords that ran under shirt and connected to the arc reactor, then looked back at the creatures.

One of them seemed to be holding some sort of handheld device as he typed something into it. Tony thought it must have had big buttons to accommodate such large fingers. The thing grabbed a small rectangular piece, reminding Tony of an oversized lego piece, and handed it to the creature closest to Tony. It reached forward and grabbed Tony by the chin, jerking him forward.

"Whoa! Hey! What the hell is going on!" Tony exclaimed, trying to pull away. He felt something being pushed against the base of his neck, on top of his spine, and gasped when there was a burning sensation.

Tony was vaguely aware that they had left him go, and that he fell to his knees on the ground. All he could feel was the burning, something trying to burrow into his skin. Tony put his arms out as he started to fall forward, the pain slowly spreading out from the spot on his neck. He glanced up when he saw a pair of boots in front of him and saw that the creatures had left and the man was leaning down in front of him.

"This is going to be painful," he told Tony easily. "If you would like I can tell you what is happening." Tony's arms started to shake as he tried to focus on the raven haired man, his ears starting to ring. "Right now there are tendrils of metal making their way into your neck to connect to your central nervous system, you'll know when it happens. From there the device shall release a serum that will bond with your bones and the marrow within."

Tony looked at the man, his eyes widening slightly. This was all just some alcohol induced dream. He had probably had too much to drink after his work in the workshop, improving the Iron Man suit, wanting to celebrate a bit. He'd had weirder dreams. He thought he did.

"Depending on what realm you are from, although it looks like you appear to be a mortal, it shall change normal abilities to adapt to your situation." He continued and stood back up, walking over to his own cot to sit down and watch Tony. "I'd be interested to see what it does to you, there aren't many mortals that make it past this point."

"What?" Tony forced out. If you were to ask him about this moment, he would deny that his voice was able to still crack this many years after puberty.

Tony felt his joints lock up suddenly as he felt the thing in his neck suddenly break into several pieces, feeling like thin needles weaving through his body, around his spine, attaching to various nerves. He wanted to move, he wanted to pull the thing off of his neck, he wanted to go back to his summer house, hell, he even wanted to help Pepper run the business. Anything that wasn't the pain that kept him on the floor.

Tony's eyes widened as white hot pain shot throughout every nerve in his body and he cried out, falling to his side. His fingers and toes curled in pain as he wheezed air through his nose, sounds of pain dying his throat. His vision swam in front of him, but he wasn't lucky enough to pass out.

He was suddenly rolled onto his back and he saw the glowing green eyes above him. His lips were moving but Tony just stared at him, his ears ringing so much that he couldn't even hear the hum of his arc reactor anymore.

There was a painful tingle around Tony's neck that moved down his chest, down his back and his shoulders, all the way down his thighs. The man above him reached down slowly and brushed his fingers against Tony's neck. Tony flinched away at the raw pain that he felt suddenly, like his skin had been rubbed almost raw, leaving him uncomfortably exposed.

Tony became aware of a screaming coming from the cell block they were in as his hearing started to returning. When a low keening cry reached his ears he became aware that it was coming from him. Tony Stark did not whine. His head fell to this side, his cheek pressed against the cold floor, as no new pain entered his body and he was left with the ache through his limbs and muscles.

His cellmate reached down and grabbed the hem of Tony's t-shirt, lifting it. Tony groaned and tensed as the fabric brushed against his skin, the same raw feeling traveling up his stomach.

"You are a very interesting mortal," the man murmured, watching Tony's skin intently. He dropped the shirt and Tony caught a glimpse at what he saw. Instead of skin he saw what looked to be silver plating that one would find on armour, small squares of metal arranged together for protection. Then why did it hurt so much?

"It would appear that you will be able to summon armour from your very body," the man sounded intrigued. "Replacing your skin, as it were, when summoned. Yes, I do believe that this ability coupled with your weapons shall serve you well." Tony opened his mouth but the man placed a finger to Tony's lips. "We shall talk later, for I sense that you will lose consciousness soon, as you should. I'm rather surprised you are still alive, much less awake." He stood up, leaving Tony on the ground.

"By they way, you may call me Loki."

* * *

Tony tossed a little, throwing his head tot he side and became aware that he wasn't sleeping on his usual bed. This one was nearly as soft, or as big, and the pillow didn't support his head int he way he was used to. He also wasn't sure why his entire body ached.

"It's about time that you woke up," Tony blinked his eyes open and looked over to see the black haired man from before. The man that he had hoped would have been part of his dreams. "You made some of the most unbearable noises as you slept." Tony pushed himself up slowly, groaning slightly, and leaned against the wall his cot was against. "What do I call you?"

Tony coughed a little and looked over at the man, Loki, and blinked slightly. "Tony," he said simply, letting his voice catch up to his thought process. He ran a hand through his hair and down his neck, stopping when he felt a slight bulge. Nothing had been a dream. "Where the hell am I?"

"I am unsure of the name, no one has bothered to tell me," Loki replied unhelpfully. "I have heard stories of this place though, and they appear to be true." Loki had crossed his legs on his own bed and was watching Tony with an air of indifference. "This is a place with no time flow, with no care for the realms around it, or its inhabitants. This place," he motioned one hand around the cell, "is what you shall call home."

"Way to be super cryptic," Tony muttered. "This is all just some fever dream isn't it? I locked myself in the workshop, right? There was a storm and, and now-"

"What are you uttering on about now? Did you not listen to what I was saying?" Loki sighed and shook his head. "You are not leaving this place on your own two feet. You have been brought here to entertain, nothing more."

"What do you mean?" Tony rubbed the sides of his temple. "What the hell is happening? I just wanted to know where I was, and you start spouting off stuff about realms and time." He looked up at Loki. "Are you insane? Like, are you in your right mind? Because I'm going to get out of here, and as soon as I figure out where I am, I can call for someone to come pick me up."

"I may not be entirely stable, but at least I understand the situation that I am in," Loki responded calmly. "You are not on Midgard anymore, you are not safe inside your home." Loki slid from the bed and slowly stalked towards Tony. "The monsters under your bed are real and they've come for you, and they have made you a pawn in their twisted game. It does not matter how you feel anymore, it is going to happen," he stopped in front of Tony, leaning down so their faces were almost touching.

"You have been brought into a game of sport," Loki continued, not giving time to respond if he wanted to. "You are to fight for the entertainment of our captors. Fight until you are no longer able, whether that means death, or exhaustion, it matters not."

"Like an arena?" Tony frowned and asked quietly. Loki stood back and regarded the man before nodding.

"Yes, much like that." Loki sighed and seemed to look around the cell before his gaze settled on the bars. "Like this fact or not you will fight, because if you don't then you will die, and so will I." Tony's eyes widened slightly. "They enjoy team battles and you have been chosen to replace my last unlucky partner. I so hope that you are a little quicker than he was." Loki walked back to his cot, laying down on his back, his head resting on his arm. "You do not understand now, but you will tomorrow."

"What happens tomorrow?" Tony asked cautiously, not sure if the man was going to snap or fall asleep on him.

"You're first battle."

* * *

Tony secured the wires into his arc reactor, aware that Loki was watching him as he worked. He felt a little off without the rest of his suit, but he was thankful that he at least had his boots and gauntlets. If this was not in fact some kind of fever dream that he was stuck in. Tony had barely gotten his boots on before that creatures had come to 'escort' Tony and Loki from their cell into some kind of waiting room.

As they walked down the halls Tony was able to see for the first time just how many others were in the same situation as them. From what he could see there were hundreds of other cells, the same as his. True to Loki's words, he was starting to understand what Loki had been talking about the day before. There those that looked like humans, and there were others that he could only describe as aliens to him, some looked like monsters, they certainly snarled at him like monsters, and some almost resembled animals on two legs. He was officially in over his head.

"What is that implemented in your chest?" Loki asked as they waited. Tony was starting to wonder if Loki had any weapons on his own since he had been prompted to prepare his. "Is it merely a power source?"

"In a way," Tony glossed. He wasn't about to start spilling his secrets to someone he wasn't even sure was human, never mind sane. "Let's just say that I'd protect it from anything, and anyone, no matter what." Loki nodded once and turned to look back at the large door they had yet to walk through.

"You should probably summon your amour," Loki said quietly. Tony looked up to respond then stopped when some golden armour appeared around Loki's body, his eyes glowing slightly. It was then that Tony noticed a silver bracelet on Loki's left wrist that stood out from the rest of the metal, hugging the skin tightly, before being covered by more amour. A golden staff appeared in his hand and he glanced at Tony. "I am not entirely sure of our opponents."

A loud klaxon sounded three times from somewhere and the doors started to slide open. Tony squinted against the light that shone through then followed behind Loki. The dirt crunched under his boots and he felt his breath catch in his chest when the deafening roar of the crowd around them caught his ears. He was in an honest to gods arena, like the gladiators in movies he saw, only much, much, bigger.

It was a covered dome that easily towered fifty stories above them. The ground must have stretched at least half a mile from wall to wall in a circle. The arena itself was not empty; the ground was stained with different coloured spots, and piles of ruined pillars and walls were littered around which could be used for strategic cover. It was too bad Tony usually wasn't one for strategy and battle plans. Tony was vaguely aware of two others walking towards them, and as he focused he was able to see just what he was looking at.

He was reminded of trolls from the fairy tales that his nannies had read to him as a little boy. They twice his size, at least, had grey skin that bled into a pale blue from the waist down, squished features on their flat, snarling, faces, and held onto large weapons that could only be described as clubs. Tony's mouth went dry.

"They are only Narboks," Loki murmured and Tony whipped his head to look at him. Loki raised an eyebrow as they walked. "You have never seen a Narbok?"

"I've never heard of one, what the hell!" Tony exclaimed, suddenly fidgeting with his gauntlets, making sure that the wires were secure through his shirt.

"They are unintelligent creatures, only focused on swinging their crude weapons. Do not underestimate their swing though," Loki warned as they drew closer to the center. "They are brutish creatures, with very few weak spots. You'll really want your armour," Loki told him again. Tony frowned a little.

"I uh, don't actually know how to get it." He also didn't want to bring it back out, it freaked him out enough that he was stuck in a place that was testing the limits of his sanity, he didn't need to know that he could turn his skin into metal armour.

"You had better learn fast," Loki told him before a projected voice had started to speak. It was the same language that he head heard from the creatures that had taken him and he couldn't understand. Loki seemed to be able to, but wasn't listening, only studying their opponents as they had stopped. The crowd that Tony couldn't see very well had started to cheer and he figured that it was like any other kind of sporting event. Only this one would end in blood shed.

Tony swallowed thickly, hoping that it wouldn't be his blood.

Tony jumped slightly when the klaxon sounded again and the two Narboks started running for them. Loki disappeared and Tony's eyes widened before he jumped to the side and rolled behind a pillar. He charged up one of his repulsors as part of the pillar above his head was broken off and sent flying, one of the clubs moving his hair as it swept past. Tony pushed himself away and turned pointing his arm at the troll and letting off a shot. He had hoped it would hit the hand, but it moved at the last minute and Tony hit the creatures side. It didn't like that.

Tony scrambled up to his feet using the boosters in his boots to get to the top of a wall, charging up both gauntlets now. He started to run along the top of the wall and fire shot after shot at the Narbok following him, hitting his head a couple of times.

"It wouldn't been nice if he had told me what their weak spots were," Tony grumbled as he propelled himself up to avoid the crumbling wall. "If there was ever a time I could use JARVIS." Tony saw the second Narbok come round one of the walls as Tony jumped and he quickly put his arms to his side and shot up into the air. Tony could now see why the dome was covered; he wouldn't be able to fly out and escape.

Tony was suddenly jerked to a stop and he quickly caught himself in the air. Looking down he saw that one of the creatures apparently had a lasso in their arsenal and it was wrapped around his ankle. They started to pull him down quickly and spin him in the air like he some sort of balloon. He could hear an explosion of something below him, but it didn't stop his circular motion so he couldn't care less.

Tony felt himself flying through the air again, this time with out the help of his boosters and curled up instinctively. He felt a painful tingle across his skin and then he crashing through something. When he landed on the ground and came to a stop he looked up and saw that he had been flung through a wall and a pillar, leaving crumbling holes.

"What the hell?" Tony muttered and pushed himself up with only a little pain. Lifting the hem of his shirt he saw that the armour was back, but it didn't feel the same as the first time. It had actually worked this time as amour was supposed too, and had saved his life he was sure. "I can work with this."

Tony turned as he felt the vibrations of the ground and was just in time to receive a swift hit from the rounded club of one of the Narboks. He was sent flying through the air and stopped when his back met one of the boulders on the battleground. Tony groaned but pushed himself up quickly, boots powering up to send him up into the air, barely missing another direct hit of the crude weapon.

"I would do something about their legs," Loki's voice crooned b y his ear. Tony turned quickly and saw that Loki was standing on top of one of the fallen pillars. "They may be large lumbering creatures, but they contain a speed that can take you by surprise."

"Could have used that information earlier," Tony grumbled and Loki just smirked.

"If we are to be stuck together I needed to know how you could handle yourself in battle," Loki merely explained as Tony moved around to avoid get grabbed by the lasso again. It wrapped around Loki but it passed through him and he disappeared. Tony blinked but pushed himself further up before he could really think about what had happened.

Tony suddenly dropped down, firing the boosters inches from the ground and pushed off some rubble straight towards the creature. His hand repulsors charged and as he passed beneath the trolls legs he shot out and hit what he though were ankles. The Narbok howled in pain and fell forward onto it's knees. Using the flight stabilizers, Tony quickly turned around and let out a couple of shots at the back of the knees, making sure the brute was down.

He let out a quiet whoop and let his feet drop to the ground, turning to look for Loki. He miscalculated the reach of the Narbok when a large hand wrapped around his arm, and pulled him back suddenly. His stomach clenched as he raised his free hand and fired at shot at the hand holding onto him, but was jerked at the last second. Tony yelled when he felt his arm separate from his shoulder at the motion.

Tony tried to twist in the grip and saw that the troll had pulled out what was probably a small dagger to it, but looked like a small sword to Tony. Tony aimed his repulsor up at the giants head and fired as it brought the dagger across, making an attempt at removing Tony's arm from the rest of his body. The shot hit the creature between the eyes and it suddenly stilled, falling backwards and letting go of Tony's arm. Tony fell to his side breathing heavily as his arm hung limply at his side. He knew he should be feeling pain but there was too much adrenaline coursing through his body. He knew that wouldn't last long.

There was a cheer from the crowd around them and Tony's attention was brought back to reality. The foreign voice started to talk again as Tony saw Loki walking towards him. Loki suddenly frowned and knelt down next to the engineer. "So did we win?" Tony asked shakily.

"Quiet, I have a short amount of time to heal you," Loki spoke quickly as he grabbed Tony's arm, ignoring his cries of pain. Muscles had been severed and the arm seemed to be barely holding on near the shoulder. Loki pushed his arm closer to Tony's body and put a glowing hand to the wound. Tony screamed as his other hand grabbed onto a boulder, the gauntlet starting to crush it into a powder.

Loki suddenly growled and Tony looked back to see that he was dressed as plainly as he had been back in the cell. Tony swallowed and looked at his arm and was surprised that he could move some of his fingers. Most of the damage had been repaired but it was still bleeding in a few spots and was still dislocated. Something he could fix back in the cell.

Two of the guards came and picked Loki up by the collar and Tony up by his good arm, directing them back towards the exit of the arena. There was some chanting that Tony couldn't understand coming from the crowd.

"Congratulations," Loki spoke smoothly. "You have survived your first battle and have become something of a fan favourite."

"Must be my charm," Tony replied shakily, lacking any enthusiasm it would have held back on Earth.

Back int he cell Tony started to remove the gauntlet from his injured arm but one of the guards grabbed his arm and Tony shouted at the pain and tried to pull away. He gritted his teeth when something circular was pressed onto the underside of his forearm. It was pulled away and Tony saw that he had been branded. Never mind that he couldn't see what it said, and what it was supposed to look like, but they had branded him. Tony Stark.

The guards left the cell, the bars rising form the ground, and Loki walked over to Tony. "It is so they may identify your body should you be defaced, or separated from your body," Loki spoke simply when he saw Tony staring at the mark. "Now, do try and stay still, I shall attempt to reconnect your arm."

"What? Wait don't- Ah!" Loki had pushed Tony's arm back towards his shoulder and he shouted in pain. He swore he saw a smirk on Loki's face.


	2. Writing on Walls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of a mass update to most of my stories. I feel like crap and didn't go to work, so I thought I'd catch up on a lot (read a LOT) of my stories. Forgive my long absence, there's been a lot of real life stuff that has been kicking my butt, but hopefully these updates make up for it, and everything likes it!

As Tony and Loki limped back to their cell, between their two escorts, two weeks later Tony was determined to ask about Loki's weapon, and his powers that seemed to be connected to the silver bracelet that he usually hid under his tunic sleeve. Tony eased himself down onto the cot as the bars rose up from the ground and he found himself cursing the two dwarves that may or may not be dead.

"So, where do you come from?" Tony asked as he checked the cut that had helped ruin his pants even more, and saw that it had stopped bleeding. He slowly started to ease the wires from the reactor and to get the boots and gauntlets off. "I mean, you kind of look human, but you're obviously not-"

"Mortal," Loki finished with a sneer. "No, I am not mortal." he was using some of his blankets in strips to dress his own leg wounds. "I suppose your kind would call me immortal, I have been called a God by others."

"What would you call yourself?" Tony asked and Loki looked up at him carefully.

"Lost," he answered quietly. "I was raised in Asgard, studied as a powerful sorcerer."

"So you do use magic to fight with then," Tony confirmed more to himself than anything. "If you're so powerful, why don't you-" Loki cut Tony off when he held up his wrist, showing the bracelet.

"This is a magic dampener," Loki explained as he finished tying off one of the blanket strips. "It is, powered down if you will, when I enter the battle grounds so I am not defenseless. It is akin to the serum they gave you when you arrived. Every fighter is different, but they all receive something."

"And then turned back on after the fight is over," Loki nodded as Tony finished the thought. "So that's why you're so quick to heal the worst of any wounds."

"Do not think that I do you a kindness," Loki looked up at the man, a hardness in his eyes. "I merely see that you have some kind of talent in fighting, and I do not wish to see you die so quickly due to the lack of medical care from our caretakers."

"Don't I feel special now," Tony rolled his eyes as he slid one of the boots off.

"You are my eighth partner in three years-"

"You've been here for three years?" Loki shot Tony a look for interrupting him.

"-and I do not wish to be stuck with another unfortunate soul who can not fight," he continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "You have a modicum of talent and I do not wish it to be wasted when it will keep me alive."

Tony pushed the boots under his cot, next to his gauntlets and leaned against the wall. He'd been here two weeks and he wondered if they knew he was missing yet. He wasn't unknown for disappearing for a week or two at a time, but he thought that JARVIS would have at least let Pepper known. Pepper. They had kissed. Then he had left. He thinks they knew, they both knew that it wouldn't work, they couldn't be a couple. At least he had talked Pepper into staying on as CEO, at least for a little while.

"Is anyone looking for you?" Tony asked quietly, wondering the same about himself. He needed to know.

Loki blinked, but didn't look at the engineer. "No," he finally answered. "No, they think me dead, more than likely. I doubt that anyone is looking for you either, Stark." Tony looked up, a little startled. "I have said it before, this is a place of no time. Time does not move here, you do not age, once you have been branded, and time does not move on your planet. You create a fixed point in time once you are brought here."

Tony took a breath and nodded slightly. He glanced out the bars when he heard the familiar boots of what Tony had informed him were the Yar. They had stopped in front of their neighbors, if you could call them that, a couple of shape-shifting elves as Loki had informed him. Devra and Jek. They had gotten there shortly after Loki had, and it seemed that they had formed a bond with each other. It was yet unknown to their Yar captors, but Devra was pregnant.

As they were taking off to the arena Tony looked over and saw that Loki had followed the couple with his eyes, and was staring off down the hall. "There are not the first to have a child here," Loki suddenly said. It was rare that Loki was feeling chatty, and Tony was quick not to interrupt him, this time. "The child shall grow and age, shall enjoy time with its parents, until it is almost fifteen seasons in age. Then it shall be branded, it shall be tested, and then it shall be moved and given a partner."

Tony tried to swallow past the lump in his throat and found himself looking out the bars and down the hallway. Somewhere inside, he still wished that this was all a drunken dream.

* * *

Tony's eyes shot open when he felt a tight grip on his shoulder. Looking up from his pillow he saw a rather annoyed and tired looking Loki above him. "You were talking in your sleep," he said tightly and Tony blinked. Loki let go and Tony sat up slowly.

"Was I talking, or was I screaming?" Tony asked and Loki raised an eyebrow. "There's a difference."

"I know the difference," Loki grumbled as he returned to his own bed.

"That's not what I meant," Tony rubbed his face. He didn't feel his heart racing, the sweat on his face, and his blankets weren't tangled in his limbs. "If I was just talking then that's fine, for now at least. The screaming though-"

"You suffer from nightmares?" Loki asked from his prone position on the bed. "There is something that haunts mortals enough to cause terrors?"

Tony snorted and plopped back down on his own bed. "Yeah, yeah there is," he said quietly and shut his eyes again.

* * *

Loki turned in the bed, being drawn from his sleep by a scratching in the cell. He wondered what unfortunate creature had wandered into their cell and sat up slowly, then blinked. Tony sat on the ground at the end of his cot, a piece of flint in his hand as he quickly scratched words and numbers onto the wall.

"Stark?" Loki asked quietly but the man didn't move. He sighed an pushed himself up and walked over to the mortal. It had been a month since he had been woken up by Tony's words and he wondered what had caused the mortal to act as such.

"Anthony," Loki leaned down next to Tony, but still the man didn't acknowledge him, he continued writing. Loki examined the marks on the wall and raised an eyebrow. Numbers and letter strung together, along with drawings of something that Loki didn't recognize streamed from the rock in Tony's hand. "Stark!" Loki grabbed Tony's wrist and the man jumped back, pushing himself against Loki, his eyes wide.

Tony blinked wildly and looked back. "Loki?" He shook his head then looked back at the wall. "Oh," he responded quietly. Loki let go of his wrist and Tony dropped the piece of flint. "Um, sorry, that happens." Tony pushed himself up and made his way back over to his cot. "Sorry for waking you up."

Loki grabbed his shoulder before he could get back into bed and Tony looked at him. "What was that?"

"While I usually love to toot my own horn, I don't like people seeing that side of me," Tony started, running a hand through his hair. "Back home, I'm a genius, like legit smarter than at least 90% of the world person. My mind if always moving, always thinking, always working. And sometimes it starts to overload, so I gotta get it out, work on stuff, write stuff down, make something."

"Like your weapons?" Loki gestured to the boots and gauntlets under the cot. Tony nodded.

"In a way, that's a whole other story actually, but it's a good demonstration." Tony plopped down on the edge of the bed. "If I don't get it out of my head, then it festers, it builds up," Tony scrunched his features together slightly and Loki sat down next to Tony. "The best scenario is that I just start, writing," he gestured to the wall. "It needs to get out somehow, and I'm not even aware of when I'm doing it. It's like sleep walking I guess."

"You were still asleep when you started that?" Loki asked as he glanced at the wall. The inventor had filled most the of the space between his bed and the cell entrance. Tony just nodded.

"It's better than the nightmares," he said quietly. "Again, sorry for waking you up," Tony continued before Loki could comment. "It's probably still late, so we should get some sleep, again," he flashed a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, but Loki didn't say anything.

* * *

Tony gasped for breath as long fingers wrapped around his neck, slamming his against the wall behind him. He was running out of steam, and quickly. He watched as the wraiths partner dispatched another of Loki's clones and wheezed in a breath to his aching lungs. He tried not to look at the wraith and tried to pry the bony fingers away from his throat.

He thought it a little unfair that the Yar celebrated one year of fighting with a marathon battle. This was the fifth and final pair that Tony and Loki had faced, and not only was Tony beyond tired, he was facing a wraith straight from the realm of Hel. For some reason that had set Loki off, but Tony needed to focus on not looking at the creature, lest he drop dead where he stood. Or rather was held.

Tony grit his teeth and placed one foot against the wall, the other straight down and engaged the boosters suddenly. He flew straight into the wraith, getting tangled in its robes briefly before he put his other foot down and was launched up and over it's head. The booster shorted and he tumbled to the ground quickly and rolled into it, slamming into the, extinguished, fire demon that Loki had been facing.

It turned to snarl at him, fire leaping from it's teeth, and Tony slammed one of his crushed gauntlets into it's face pushing it backwards into Loki's staff, impaling it through the chest. Loki threw the demon to the ground, stepped past Tony to face the approaching wraith.

"Odinson," the wraith hissed suddenly and Tony's head whipped back around, making sure to look past the wraith. Loki however looked it in the covered face, lip raised in a snarl. "It has been a while since I have felt your presence."

"Yes, I imagine it has been," Loki told the being. "And how long have you been absent from Hela's realm? How long have you lived with the knowledge that you are not worthy to serve under her?" The creature hissed and lashed out at Loki suddenly.

Tony had lifted his shirt and crossing exposed wires as the two had their little chat. When the wraith lashed out Loki lifted his staff, but Tony had raised a foot and fired off a repulsor shot that hit its chest. It started to laugh suddenly, but Tony merely smirked when he saw the glow inside its robes.

"You may not be susceptible to my shots, but your robes are still flammable," he announced as the robes suddenly caught, blue flames spitting out and surrounding the creature. It howled in pain suddenly and Loki reached out his hand, grow smoke flowing from his fingers to circle the wraith. The smoke rose up and when it dropped, the wraith was gone, smoking robes on the ground.

The klaxon sounded and Tony let out a breath, falling onto his back as the crowd roared in excitement. Loki knelt down and placed a hand on Tony's side, and he hissed in pain, forgetting that he had a thin dagger stuck there.

"You should heal yourself," Tony tried to push Loki's hand away, but her merely glared at him.

"What do you think I do during the battle?" Loki spat at him, but no venom laced his words. "I can heal as I fight. Would I not take the time to heal your frail body, you would surely die within hours." Tony grunted a little as Loki healed the last of the threatening wounds. The silver bracelet flashed and Loki was left in his tunic and pants. Tony took his offered hand and got to his feet as the two Yar guards came to surround them.

"I'll need tools," Tony looked at one of their guards. In the year he had been there, Loki had slowly taught him to understand the alien language. He would never be able to speak it for it required two tongues to even attempt the sounds being made. Loki then offered to cut Tony's tongue in half for him. Tony declined. "To repair my weapons."

The guard looked at him as they walked and growled out something. "It is indeed not my fault that they were damaged," Tony retorted. Because no matter where Tony was, he couldn't stop being Tony Stark. He held up his damaged gauntlet, the metal crushed, and he knew it would take some time to get it off, and the repulsor pushed out of it's setting. "There's no way that can be used again. It needs to be repaired, and I'll need some tools, some Midgardian tools that I know you have, to do it." There was another growl and Loki smirked from next to Tony.

"What!" Tony's eyes had widened a little as they walked back into the cell hallway. "Just because I need tools you'll cut my rations for a month?" Tony let out a loud sigh. "Fiiiiiine," he drawled. "I need the tools more than I need the food," he murmured and only Loki heard.

"Did you enjoy the celebration?" Tony and Loki glanced over at Jek after they had been returned to their cell. Devra held onto a sleepy baby boy.

"Oh yeah, tons of fun," Tony rolled his eyes a little, smirking slightly. "I hope I get to do it every year."

"Sorry to burst your bubble," Jek chuckled a little. "The next time it happens will be in another nine years."

"If they did it every year they'd run out of combatants," Devra added.

"Lucky us," Tony groaned loudly when he dropped onto his cot.

Tony's tools arrived the same time that dinner did. Or at least half of a dinner for Tony. He grumbled to himself but took the tool as he was still working on getting the right gauntlet off without having to cut it off. It was starting to bite into his skin though.

"So," Tony started casually as he grabbed a screwdriver over the piece of bread. At least what he thought was always bread. "On first name basis with wraiths?" He could feel Loki's eyes burrow into his skin. "I mean, it's not every day that one from the land of the dead just strikes up a conversation in the middle of-"

"Ask your question and be done with this," Loki growled out and Tony looked up. Loki didn't look angry, he looked troubled, and for once Tony was reconsidering his line of questions.

"How did that thing know you? Or maybe I should ask, how do you know Hel's ruler?" Tony was pretty sure that Loki had never talked about Hela when he had been telling Tony of his home, or what he had considered his home.

After being stuck together for a year, the two had started to open up a little with each other, and Tony learned that Loki was indeed the Loki he had heard associated with the Norse Gods. And that his brother, no, not brother anymore, was the one and only Thor. The one that had been causing some trouble in New Mexico the same time he was trying to save his own life from the arc reactor.

Tony then told him about his arc reactor, about how he got it, and what it did. Loki had listened attentively and filed away the information for later. Tony had told Loki that if something should happen to the reactor while they were fighting, that Loki should try and mend that before he lost his powers. Without then the wounds he healed would matter little. Loki had agreed.

"There have been many rumors," Loki started and Tony roused himself from his thoughts. "Although, it is no lie that Hela and I know each rather intimately. Most would say that she is my daughter, and as punishment Odin sent her to rule over Helheim."

"Is she?" Tony asked quietly.

"She is not," Loki shook his head. "Despite all the words that crossed many ears, and many tomes, I have no children. Hela and I used to be lovers," Loki stated as he leaned back on his cot, and Tony blinked. "Well, one of my lovers." He smirked a little and Tony snorted, covering his mouth to hold back the laughter.

"Now, that I can relate with," Tony added as he finally managed to pull the gauntlet off. "Oh sweet heavens," Tony relaxed as he flexed his hand. "That feels about ten times better, I'm not gonna lie." Loki snorted as he picked apart his food, eating slowly, watching Tony.

"Will you be able to fix your gauntlets?" Loki asked several moment later, watching the man still ignore his food.

"I'll be able to get them in working condition," Tony told him, sighing slightly. "I tell you, that's what I miss the most, working in my workshop." Loki watched the man face as he kept his attention on his inventions. "It was my home inside my home, somewhere I could just slip down to and kind of forget that anyone else existed." He glanced up and smiled softly at Loki, and the god saw the longing in his eyes. "It didn't matter what time it was, I knew I was welcome down there. When my thoughts and my dreams woke me up, that's where I could go."

"It would stop you from writing on the walls?" Loki asked and smirked. Tony laughed and Loki blinked a little when he felt better. Why should it matter if tried to ease the mortals mind?

"Oh well," Tony shrugged and turned his attention back to the gauntlet and it's exposed wiring. "That's worlds away, literally. I'll get back there someday, and when that happens I'm gonna show it to you."

"Your flights of fancy amuse me," Loki said with a small smile.

"Something has to," Tony shot back.


	3. Always Worth It

Tony came from the back of their cell and saw Loki sitting on the floor in front of the bars, staring across the way. He had just finished washing his hair and some clothes and raised an eyebrow at the sight. "Is there something interesting out there?" Tony walked over and stood behind Loki.

"There is something quite interesting, please do not disturb me." Loki told him, not moving, nor blinking. Tony looked in the direction that Loki was staring and bit his lip to keep a laugh in. It seemed that Loki and their four year old neighbor, Naiden, were having a staring contest. His parents were out in the arena and Tony usually took to keep the child entertained until they came back.

"How long have you two been staring at each other?" Tony asked as he ruffled his hair, flinging droplets of water around.

"Since you left to get cleaned," Loki replied. His emerald green eyes patiently held the gaze of bright golden eyes.

"That was almost an hour ago," Tony blinked then sat down next to Loki. "Have you two honestly not blinked for almost an hour?"

"No, I had to rearrange the rules for the small boy-"

"I'm not small," Naiden interrupted.

"It is whomever looks away first is the one that loses," Loki finished.

"He hasn't blinked," Naiden pointed out. "He's trying to show off."

"He is indeed showing off," Tony agreed glancing over at the boy, who was keeping his eyes solely on Loki. "It's kind of something that he does. What did he offer you if you win?"

"I could ask him a couple of questions," the boy replied with a small smile.

"The mighty Loki would answer a couple of questions honestly?" Tony put a hand to his chest. "That is a worthy prize indeed, he rarely answers my questions." Tony pushed himself up off the ground. "Well, I'll let you two continue your game, I'll be back." He shook his head and headed towards the back of the cell so he could hang the wet clothes to dry.

Tony wondered how many times Loki had secretly kept the boy company while Tony was busy. He smirked and looked at the two the sighed slightly. Tony knew that he was just setting himself up for something, he wasn't sure if it was heartbreak, and he knew he wasn't doing himself any favors by holding onto his feelings inside as he was, but what else could he do. There was no way that he could tell Loki that he was kinda, maybe, possibly in love with him.

Tony sighed and and finished hanging the shirts and pants and turned, not paying attention, and yelped when he fell into the large bucket that served as a bathtub and washing tub. He sighed as he spit out some water.

Loki blinked and turned his head just enough when he heard Tony's yelp before remembering what he was doing. "Yes!" Loki winced a little when the little voice celebrated his victory.

"Anthony!" Loki growled and there was a mumbled sorry. Quickly followed by laughter.

"I get two questions, right?" Loki looked back to the ever curious Naiden and he nodded. "Good."

"You already know what you want to ask?" Loki raised an eyebrow as he watched Naiden lean back and cross his arms over his chest.

"Of course," he nodded. "Mum was going to ask, but I wanted to beat her too it. She says that I have something called magic, and she says that you know how to use it. Will you teach me?"

Loki blinked his eyes open a little wider then nodded once. He had sensed some magic coming from the boy, and knew that the two adult elves would have some themselves, but it would be blocked like his own. He wasn't aware that Devra and Jek had thought that he was worthy enough to teach another.

"Of course I will, now what is your last question?" Loki leaned forward, a little interested in where this could go.

"How long have you and Tony been together?" Naiden asked easily. Loki blinked a little, caught off guard.

"Hmm, well," Loki tapped his chin. "Tony has been here for a a little over five years, before your mother started carrying you."

"No, no," Naiden shook his head and leaned forward against the bars. "How long have you two been in love? Like my parents."

Loki felt his breath catch in his throat. "And how exactly do you know about love?" Loki's head whipped around so fast he thought for sure he heard a snap. Tony was walking towards them, his hair wet again, but he had changed into some dry clothes. "You're only four."

"I listen to my parents," the little boy grinned and Tony snorted as he chuckled. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Technically it was your third question," Loki pointed out. "I only agreed to answer two of them."

Naiden crossed his arms and started to pout. "That's not fair, it wasn't what I meant to say."

"Let this be a lesson in wording," Loki smirked slightly and pushed himself up. He glanced at Tony, letting his fingers brush across his arm as he passed by him. Tony closed his eyes briefly before taking Loki's spot on the ground.

"Back where he used to live, they would call him a trickster, and the God of Mischief," Tony smiled gently at the boy.

"What did they call you?" Naiden leaned forward again, his attention easily swayed to another topic.

"Me? They called me many things," Tony grinned a little, then actually thought about what he was called. "And some of them I'll tell you when you're older." The boy stuck his tongue out at Tony, and he returned the gesture. "They called me a genius though, and a billionaire."

"What's a bill- billa- billnir?" Naiden struggled with the word.

"It means that I had a lot of money, which let me buy things," Tony continued when he got a weird look. He forgot that the boy didn't know anything other than the cells and battles. "Things like clothes, and food, and all difference kinds of stuff to drink."

"Whenever you wanted?" The toddlers eyes got big.

"Whenever I wanted, and however much I wanted," Tony told him, smiling a little sadly. "And I had a place to live, it was a house, it was big, really big. I had several of them." Tony tried not to focus on how he was using the past tense.

"Bigger than these cells?"

"Much, much bigger. These cells," Tony gestured around him, "was the size of just one room. And there were many different rooms in the house."

"Can I see them one day? Me, and mum, and dad?"

"Mum, and Dad, and I." Loki corrected from the back of the cell.

Tony rolled his eyes then nodded. "Yeah, and we'll bring Loki, too." Naiden smiled widely and Tony felt his heart break a little.

* * *

"Kid sure is curious," Tony commented later that night, fiddling with some of the wires that connected to his arc reactor. Loki glanced up from one of the books that he had bartered from some of the guards.

"It is only natural for someone of his age," Loki responded, looking back down, but not reading the words. "The love that he speaks of is one that he knows only between a parent and their child," and if he sounded bitter Tony didn't notice. He was too busy thinking of his own bitter memories.

"I wonder why he would think that we were even involved," Tony wondered quietly.

"Because children can see little interactions that adults would rather block," Loki answered and Tony raised his head. "It is getting late, and I believe that we will be woken early tomorrow for another battle." Loki closed the book and turned over on his cot. Tony blinked and scrunched his brows together in confusion.

* * *

Tony flailed his arms when one of his boot boosters started to short out. He could see Loki and a couple of his clones, battling against the last giant. He could feel some of the circuits directing electricity back to his reactor, but he could take of that as soon as they took down the last mace wielding Giant.

"Hey!" Tony called out as he got closer to them. "Big, green, and ugly!" Tony's boosters gave out and he flailed around, landing on the giant, who promptly threw him off and into Loki. "Well, that was unplanned."

The Loki he had landed on disappeared and Tony looked around to see the mace take out the last clone. The actual Loki held his staff close to his head, eyes closed, and he was speaking quickly, He saw the arm of the giant swing back and Tony scrambled to his feet, gauntlets charging up.

"Loki!" The sorcerer's eyes snapped open at his voice and saw the mace in mid swing, arcing towards his body. Tony slammed his boot against the ground and it propelled him up enough for Tony to wrap an arm around the Giants neck. He planted his hands on its neck and let the repulsors fire. The Giant roared in pain and Tony jumped off as it started to tumble forward.

Tony reached Loki as he hit the ground on his back, his clothes quickly becoming dark, and shiny with his blood. "Shit, heal yourself, do it now," Tony said frantically as he pulled his shirt off and tried to staunch the the blood. His shirt was soaked within seconds, the mace having torn Loki's side to shred.

"My magic, is weak," Loki breathed out, trying to concentrate on his magic flow. He scrunched his eyes together and Tony saw the bracelet start to spark.

"No!" Tony's eyes got big when Loki's clothes changed, his magic having been cut off again. Loki gasped as the pain he had tried to block rushed through his nerves.

Tony turned when he heard the boots of their guards, and pushed himself up quickly. "Let him use his magic," he said quickly. The two Yar seemed to laugh as they walked closer. Tony stood in front of Loki, his arms stretched out to stop them. "He'll die if you don't let him heal himself!" He couldn't let Loki die out here, not here. "Just for a minute! Please!"

One of the guards narrowed his eyes at Tony, using his full height to his advantage to tower over Tony. He growled something out and Tony narrowed his eyes. "No, I make this request, I'll take on the burden." Tony took a step closer. The only fear he held was saved for Loki, and making sure he lived. "If he dies you'll lose most of your audience out there," he pointed towards the still cheering fans. "You know as well as I do that we're you're best team."

The second guard grumbled something to his partner, who never took his blood red eyes off of Tony. He suddenly smirked and nodded, then garbled out something. Tony's back stiffened a little, then he glanced at Loki, who looked like he might pass out any second. "Yes," he said quickly. "Yes, I'll do it, just let him heal himself," Tony hissed through a glare.

The Yar started to laugh and Tony fell to his knees and saw the bracelet spark again. He grabbed one of Loki's hands and placed it on the wound on his side. Loki hissed and pain, then tilted his head to look at Tony. "Ask questions later, right now you need to stay the fuck alive," Tony told him. "Don't make me regret this.

"Why?" Loki rasped out, his fingers dancing with green power as it started to knit together his skin, stopping the blood. "Why would you make a deal with them?"

"Call me an emotional fool," Tony muttered as he pulled his now heavy and drenched shirt away, his armour having stayed in place. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to keep it on as he faced the Yar. "Naiden may or may not have been extremely observant." Loki looked up and Tony smiled shyly. "At the risk of sounding cliche-"

"Yes, I do believe that I harbor feelings of love for you also," Loki cut him off and Tony blinked. He suddenly grinned and looked at Loki. "Do not make me regret this," Loki parroted Tony's earlier words. Tony chuckled a little and grabbed Loki's hand, pulled him up to his feet slowly. Loki groaned a little, but knew that he would live.

Tony kept a hold of Loki's hand and took a step closer to the taller man. Loki looked down at him and opened his mouth to say something but was stopped when one of their guards pulled Tony away, gripping his shoulder painfully.

"So, I'll see you in a bit," Tony called out as he was led in a different direction and Loki frowned as he made his way towards their cell.

"Loki?" Jek looked over at the single occupant once the bars were secure again and they were left alone.

Loki glanced over as he slowly sat on the cot. "He's still alive," he knew what the couple had been thinking. They hadn't seen him return alone in many years. "He did something, although I am unsure as to what it is he agreed too." The elf nodded a couple times and returned to his family when he saw Loki turn his gaze elsewhere.

He glanced at his bracelet idly, wondering what exactly had happened, what exactly Tony had bargained for. He could still feel tiny bits of his magic, something that Loki could pull on and store for a later use. Perhaps he could use it as a means of escape, for him and Tony.

He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting on the cot, but along with the dinner rations came a rather exhausted, and pale looking Tony. Loki had jumped up and caught the engineer under his arms as he was pushed into the cell. The shorter man chuckled a little and pat Loki's cheek, looking at him through half lidded eyes.

"Tony." Loki led him to his own bed and left him lay down on it, kneeling in front of Tony. "What happened?"

Tony's eyes closed briefly before he looked at Loki. He chuckled a little and let out a lazy smile. "Mmm, Loki, pretty Loki," his words slurred. Loki frowned and put the back of his hand against Tony's forehead. "Not sick," he shook his head slightly. "Just playing guinea pig," he nodded once and reached out putting his hand on Loki's cheek. "You're a God, that's pretty amazing. I want you to be my God." Tony closed his eyes again. "I'll be able to sleep tonight, no numbers, no bombs, but that means no Loki." Tony frowned suddenly.

"I need to know what they did to you," Loki tried again. Tony was only half aware of what was happening, but he could work with half. "I need to know what you agreed to."

"Hmmm," Tony hummed, then turned his head on the pillow to look at Loki again. "Yeah, I remember, You were dying, and it hurt, right here," Tony let his hand flop down on his chest. "Didn't think it could hurt there anymore, but it did. So I saved you, I made them give you back your magic." He let out a yawn and turned a little on the cot.

Loki grabbed his hand and laced his fingers with Tony's. "What did they say to you? What did you say yes to?"

Tony smiled and lightly squeezed Loki's hand. "Told them that it wasn't you asking, you're too stubborn to make a deal with them. So they said that there was someone who was looking at people, studying them, after battles. They seemed real happy about it, which made me feel not so happy about it." Tony hummed again and brought Loki's hand up to rest on his stomach. "They poked and prodded a little," Tony shrugged. "And then I was told I could come back to my Loki. I never saw their faces though," he added quietly. "Agreed that they could do this for a while, along as they let you have your magic on the battlegrounds."

"It wasn't worth this, Tony," Loki him, keeping a strong grip on Tony's hand. Tony smiled and brought Loki's hand up and pressed his lips to his knuckles.

"Sure it was," Tony said simply. "It'll always be worth it. Someone needs to be looking for you." Tony's head dipped to the side and his breathing evened out as he seemed to fall asleep suddenly. Loki blinked and kept a hold of Tony's hand for most of the night.

* * *

Tony groaned as he rolled over in the bed, his face coming in contact with the hard stone wall. He wanted to curl up and pretend he'd never woken up, to not think about the aches and pains that his body was going through. He vaguely remembered being taken to a different room after the battle, and probably making some smartass comment about the room not having bars. That's when the two 'guests' came out, saying they were observing. Only he never saw their faces, and only one of them spoke.

"Tony?" Tony's eyes opened slowly and he turned to see Loki sitting on the edge of the bed. "Are you better now?"

Tony blinked owlishly and stared at Loki for a second. "I must be in a bad way," Loki scrunched his brows together. "You never call me Tony, it's usually Anthony or Stark."

"I am merely pleased that you are awake, and in your right mind this time," Loki finished quickly. He moved to get off the bed but Tony leaned up and took his wrist. Loki froze, then relaxed back into his seat. They let their hands drop and Tony was a little shocked when Loki laced their fingers together.

"I fell," Loki said suddenly and Tony looked up at him. "That is how I got here. You are always asking how i came to be here, and the answer is, I fell." Loki looked down at his feet and Tony sat up properly, keeping a hold of his hand. "I have told you of the battle in Asgard, it was then that I fell from the destroyed bridge, after being denied by Odin." Tony almost found it easy to keep his mouth shut. "I was in the Void, I know not how long, and there was nothing there, only darkness and silence."

Tony squeezed Loki's hand and the taller man turned to look at him. Tony suddenly grabbed Loki's face and moved forward, pressing his lips to Loki's. Loki stilled, briefly, before taking over the kiss, running his hand through Tony's hair gently, his thumb rubbing behind Tony's ear. Tony moaned and Loki to the advantage, slipping his tongue past his lips, mapping every line and contour of the mans mouth.

Tony moaned again, pressing himself closer to the sorcerer. "I think I know why they call you silvertongue," he breathed when they finally stopped for air. Tony smirked a little as Loki's thumb continued to rub circles behind his ear. Loki just smirked.

* * *

A nine year old Naiden was making faces at Tony, as the older man retaliated it. In truth it was the engineer who had started it and Loki had rolled his eyes, leaning against the bars as he read one of his books. He slipped it shut when they heard the familiar heavy boots of the guards and they all stood up. Devra and Jek must be on their way back.

Tony glanced out and frowned suddenly, pulling on Loki's arm. Loki knew, he had heard it, or rather didn't hear it. There were only two sets of feet coming their way; not four. The two Yar stopped in front of the almost barren cell and Naiden stepped back. Tony moved around when the two almost giants blocked his view.

"Hey! Let go!" If Tony could have fit, he would have slipped through the bars when they heard the boy start to shout. The boy kicked his feet and wiggled as the guards had grabbed him and turned to leave the cell.

"Wait!" Tony suddenly shouted and they stopped to look at him. "What are you doing?"

One of the guards growled an answer out and they turned to move, but Loki stepped forward. "He is not of age to fight, you know that." Tony wondered how he could sound so calm, but knew there was a hidden rage. The other guard growled out something short as they started to move again, Naiden kicking and screaming.

"No! We'll take him!" Tony said quickly and without thought. Loki didn't move, only wondered how long it would have been before he had said the same thing. "He can stay here, with us."

The first guard turned to look at Tony, a smirk on his face as he answered Tony. "Yes, I know," Tony glared. "I never know when to hold my tongue. And I don't care if you think I make too many demands, you-"

"Take it as my request then," Loki cut his mortal off. "We will take the boy in. I do not see how you can say no, it only saves you some extra effort in attempting to find a partner for him," Loki kept a steady gaze with the guards as he spoke. "There will not have to be any exchange as we will have to split our rations anyway. There is a not a way that it doesn't work in your favour."

The guards considered his words. Tony let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when they moved back towards their cell. The two backed up as the bars lowered and Naiden was dropped inside. Tony quickly wrapped his arms around the young boy as he pressed his face into Tony's shirt. Loki sent a glare at the guards as they walked away, standing protectively close to Tony and Naiden.

Loki felt his hands fist up, then glanced down at Tony on his knees, comforting the boy. He became aware that Tony was talking. "-she's nice, and you'll see the ocean. It's this big body of water, just sitting there, and you go swimming in it, like it's the largest bathtub in the universe."

Naiden sniffed once, holding onto to Tony's shirt tightly. "I'll teach you how to build things, and then Loki will teach you how to make them better with magic."

Loki could feel the magic that he had been storing for years, and knew that he didn't have long to plan their escape. There was now one more person to take with them. He would tell Tony of his plan later that night

* * *

It have been five years since Naiden moved, and Tony and Loki had been tense for the last two. They knew it was only a matter of time before Naiden was told that he had to fight. The two could only bargain so much with the guards to delay the inevitable, and Tony was still paying on his debt that had saved Loki's life.

"Hmm," Tony smirked slightly when Loki dropped a wet cloth on his forehead. "I'm not even an old man yet, and here you are, taking care of me."

"I would not get used to it," Loki told him, washing the dirt, and what he was sure was blood, from Tony's face. "I am only doing this because Naiden is still washing clothes."

"And here I thought you loved me," Tony pouted but Loki only smirked. "I'm wounded."

"I know you are," Loki replied, dipping the cloth in the small bowl of water again. "Which is why I am forced to look after you." Tony stuck his tongue out at him and attempted to sit up.

"It's not as bad as some days, and you know it," Tony pointed out as Loki helped him. "I'm just a little sore anyway, I can still move around."

"Hmm," Loki watched him then shook his head. "Well, try not to get yourself killed. For some inane reason your insanity keeps mine in check."

"Is that your way of saying you don't know that you'd do without me?" Tony grinned, but Loki refused to speak further. "It is, isn't it?" Tony smirked a little and leaned forward, dropping a gently kiss on his cheek. "Well, the same goes for me. I want to be the only one who drives you up a wall."

"So far, it is working," Loki mumbled. "With Naiden in a close second."

Tony snorted a little as Naiden came back from the back of the cell. "Are you two done with your emotions now?" His brown hair was slicked back with water, resting just at his ears, and he was almost as tall as Tony.

"And miss the chance to-" Tony stopped as all three looked towards the hall.

"I thought you two had just fought yesterday," Naiden said quietly as the footsteps got louder. Somehow they knew where they were headed. Loki stood up quickly and Tony pushed himself up slowly. They saw that they guards came prepared, including a brand. Tony and Loki moved immediately.

"Hold onto my arms tightly," Tony told Naiden quietly as he pulled him over Naiden frowned in confusion, but held onto Tony's arms with his hands. Loki stood in front of them, speaking a spell quickly. Tony glanced back as the guards entered the cell and hoped that the spell wouldn't take too long.

Loki opened his eyes and watched the Yar. He glanced back at Tony and Naiden as power danced through his hands. Tony looked at him and shook his head. He grit his teeth as he set the traveling circle alight around the two. Tony's eyes widened and Loki smirked at him before turning back to the now furious guards.

Tony closed his eyes when they were suddenly covered in light, he felt a strong pushing sensation and the ground leave their feet. He held on tightly to Naiden, forcing himself to breathe. Tony stumbled when his feet were suddenly on solid ground and he opened his eyes, hoping to see Loki standing in front of them with that damned smirk on his face.

He felt a familiar ocean breeze hit his face and he took a breath. They were standing by the water of his Malibu home, just underneath the outcropping that the mansion sat on. Naiden pulled back slightly to look around and his eyes widened and he quickly shielded his eyes from the bright sun.

Tony's chest tightened as he quickly turned around. Loki wasn't there, he hadn't followed them. Tony closed his eyes and started to rub at his temples with his fingers. He needed to think, needed to think of how he could get Loki. He had a lab at his disposal now, he was sure he could figure something out. He was sure-

"Tony!" Tony's eyes snapped open and he saw Naiden in front of him, holding on to Tony's arms. Tony swallowed then remembered why they had moved when they did. Naiden wasn't there, he was safe.

"Come on," Tony said softly, taking Naiden hand. "There's a lot to do." He forced a small smile out and Naiden nodded. "First thing's first, we have to find out what day it is." They started to walk across the sand, and Naiden stumbled a few times, unused to the feeling, but Tony kept him up. "I wonder if Pepper canceled the paper," he idly wondered.

It took a little bit but they finally made their way to the front of the mansion. Tony punched in the code for the gate but it didn't move. He frowned a little and looked at the scanner. "JARVIS? I'm home."

"Good morning, sir," Tony couldn't have grinned further at the familiar voice. He pressed his thumb to the scanner and the gate started to open and Naiden pressed himself to Tony's back. Everything was new to the teen and Tony was going to have to take it slow.

The front door opened and Tony led Naiden inside. He sat him down on the couch inside and grabbed the paper that had already been looked through on the table. "We'll be able to see if anything happened while I was gone." Tony smiled gently at Naiden and looked at the paper in his hand.

Naiden was looking around the strange place, looking out the windows, gaze transfixed by the moving water. There was a rustle of paper and a thud as Tony fell onto the couch. Naiden turned his head quickly and looked at Tony's wide-eyed gaze. "What happened?"

"I'm four years in the past."


	4. Didn't Plan For This

A decidedly younger, and arc reactor free, Tony Stark stared at the screen of his tablet, face set in a frown. Once the first incorrect code had been entered on the gate to his mansion JARVIS had alerted him. Suddenly the alert disappeared and Tony got curious. Now he was just plain confused. He was looking at himself, at least at someone who looked like him, and somehow had the same fingerprint and DNA as him.

"JARVIS? How long has he been there?" The older Tony, and some teenager, was down in his lab looking for something.

"It has been over an hour sir," the AI responded.

"Has he compromised any of the systems? Changed anything?" Tony asked as he idly twirled in his chair.

"No, sir," JARVIS responded. "If he had needed to, he has used all correct passcodes. It appears that he is in need of help and does not intend to stay." Tony hummed as he watched. Dragging his finger across the bottom of the screen the image started to rewind, watching the security images from the start.

After the paper had fallen from his hands it didn't take the other Tony too long to bounce up from the couch and the teen followed him quickly. They had made their down to the lab and Tony quickly punched in a code and walked right over to the monitors on the desk, by his Hot Rod frame. Tony fast forwarded and stopped when he saw the two men suddenly clap their hands over their ears. The other Tony reached back and felt for something on his neck, before he pulled away, nodding a couple times.

"JARVIS? What happened there?"

"I was asked to set off a serious of waves to disrupt a device that was implanted on his person," JARVIS explained easily. "He seemed quite insistent and I thought it would cause no harm." Tony hummed as he nodded. There was some more typing on the computer as the two men talked. He could tell that they were both looking upset about something, and he was making notes to install some mics in his lab next security update. He wanted to hear what was going on.

"Sir," JARVIS interrupted his musings. "It seems that he is attempting to create a second account with one the banking institutions." Tony raised an eyebrow and leaned back, holding the tablet up a little.

"Alright, let it go through for now. I want to see where he's going with this." Tony tapped his chin a little as he watched the rest of the recording. "We can always reverse it if this is just an elaborate ruse to get my money." If the AI was able, he probably would have nodded his agreement.

He fast forwarded through the recordings, reaching the real time transmission and paused. The other Tony had wrapped the teen in his arms tightly, one hand wrapped securely around his shoulder, the other resting on the back of his head as the boy held onto Tony tightly. His doppelganger seemed to single out the camera and looked into it.

Tony's breath caught in his chest as he stared at the man. It was clearly him, he could see it in the eyes. "Let him do whatever he wants," Tony said quietly as he watched. "Erase all traces of this man from the cameras, hide the transfer from the accountants, let him take however much he needs."

"If I may ask, sir, why?" JARVIS questioned, but completed his creator's wishes.

"I'm not exactly sure," Tony answered. "I just have a feeling."

* * *

It was weird, Tony decided, having been in his own mansion, but seeing that things were in fact different. He had had to remember all his own passwords and codes, and hope that he wouldn't get locked out of the system by JARVIS.

Tony threw a couple of things into a bag and glanced at the row of cars. He'd fly them to an airport and let JARVIS worry about getting the car back to the garage. Happy could probably arrange to pick it up, it wouldn't be the first time that a car had ended up somewhere he couldn't remember. He finally picked a car and opened the door, throwing the bag in the back of the car.

Naiden walked around it slowly, putting a hand out hesitantly and running his fingers along the surface. Tony watched him for a second. "JARVIS? I need you to do something for me," Tony spoke quietly. "You can't tell me any of this, the other me. Nothing of what you haven't already told him." Tony turned back to look around the lab. "You can't tell him anything about the scans that I know you took, you can't tell him where we're going, nothing."

"May I inquire as to the reason?" The AI questioned, and Tony was glad to see that Naiden no longer jumped whenever JARVIS spoke.

"There's going to be a day, in four years, where something is going to happen," Tony walked back over tot he computer and started typing in some things. "I'm going to program the date in. I need you to not inform anyone, don't raise any alarms, alright?" He was aware of Naiden watching him and glanced over. He could see under the lights of the lab that Naiden looked filthy. Tony probably looked the same.

"Come on kid," Tony motioned to Naiden. "Let's get cleaned up before we go anywhere. There's this amazing thing called a shower, you're gonna love it." The teen blinked but nodded and followed tony out of the lab.

"Everything is so weird, and different, but," Naiden looked at the water wall at the top of the steps, "still beautiful."

"There's going to be a lot to learn," Tony told him, heading to the closest bathroom. "It'll probably be a little overwhelming at first, but that's why I'm here." Tony didn't comment that he was sure that even he would have a bit of a struggled readjusting to normal life. "I taught you how to read English, and then French and Italian. That right there is actually more than most people know." He walked into the bathroom and grabbed a towel, throwing it over the bar of the stall. He reached in and turned the water on, setting the temperature.

Naiden leaned in past Tony and watched the water falling from the shower head. "It moves on it's own?" Tony bit back a little bit of a sad smile.

Tony grabbed a couple bottles and a bar of soap and set them on the shelf under the shower head. "This one is shampoo, and it goes in your hair, like the soap from the cell," Tony pointed at a blue bottle. "This one is a body wash, and then some soap. This stuff is a whole lot nicer, trust me." Naiden nodded a couple times, looking at the bottles. "Alright, take your time, and I'll go get some clothes to change into. If you need help or have any questions, just ask for me. JARVIS will let me know."

"Immediately, sir," JARVIS agreed. Tony ruffled Naiden hair slightly before leaving the room. He headed up to what was his bedroom and looked through the closet, grabbing some of the older clothes. Now that he thought about it he had wondered where these clothes had disappeared to.

"Time travel," Tony muttered as he grabbed some jeans and a couple shirts for himself. "Never mess with time."

He opened the door slowly to the bathroom and saw some steam rolling around the ceiling as he dropped the clothes on the counter. He bit his lip a little and left again, going to his own bathroom. Dropping his own clothes on the counter he turned the water on and shut the bathroom door. Stripping down quickly he threw the dirty clothes off to the side, intending to burn the clothes when he was done.

Stepping under the water he let out a sigh and closed his eyes. The water felt like velvet on his skin. Tony hadn't been aware of just how much he missed the feeling, fresh water running across his skin. he quickly set to work of washing his hair and his body, scrubbing a little longer until he was sure that the water was running clear again.

Tony gripped onto the handle on the shower door as he let the water just run over him. He remembered when he had promised Naiden to get him out of that cell. He had made the same promise to Loki He shut his eyes tightly, knuckles turning white from his grip. Loki should have been there with them, he should have been with Tony, chuckling into his neck because Tony was taking too long in the water.

Tony opened his eyes as the water started to turn cold. Loki wasn't there, and Tony would have to wait four years until he could do anything.

Tony shut the water off and grabbed his towel, going through the still familiar motions of getting dressed. As he slipped a t-shirt on the door opened and Naiden stuck his head in. "Tony?"

Tony looked up and grabbed the extra clothes, and dirty clothes. "Yeah." He walked over to the teen, his hair slicked back and looking much better. Naiden held up his own dirty clothes and Tony grabbed them, balling them up with the others. "Did you like it?"

Naiden nodded quickly, a smile on his face, as Tony dropped the dirty clothes into a trash chute. "You used one of those all the time?" Tony nodded as he took the extra clothes for Naiden. "It's a different feeling than the tub we had."

"Everything is gonna get better," Tony said, pulling the boy closer by his shoulders. "I promise." Naiden nodded once. Tony closed his eyes again then opened them and directed them back down to the workshop. "We're gonna go to an airport, I'll explain what one is on the way there, and that'll take us to where we'll live for a little bit, kay?"

"Because we can't stay here," Naiden confirmed. "Because of the difference in time, right?"

"Yeah," Tony nodded. He packed the clothes in the bag already in the car. Turning around he looked around the workshop. Tony had already spent 15 years away from his home, his workshop, what was another four years? "Don't mess with time travel, Naiden, it'll come back to bite you in the ass."

* * *

Sixteen months later Tony wondered why he had thought that England had been the best place to move. It rained a lot. Tony didn't like rain. Pulling out his key quickly he unlocked the door to the little house he was resting and stepped inside, shaking the rain off of his umbrella and jacket outside. He placed a bag on the kitchen counter and saw Naiden sitting on the couch, a couple of books open on the coffee table.

Tony always had a link with JARVIS, for emergencies, and had created some papers and identities for him and Naiden. According to anyone concerned, except for the press, Naiden had been adopted by Anthony Stark three years ago, and was now attending school in Portsmouth, England, living with his Uncle, Edward Stark.

Tony loathed the name, but it had managed to keep his identity relatively secret. Letting his hair grow out and shaving his facial hair off had helped, too. He was getting mistaken for Robert Downey Jr instead of Tony Stark. 'Damn Sherlock Holmes movie,' Tony thought.

"So, I thought that next week we could drive up to London," Tony called out as he started to take some of the groceries out of the bag. "To celebrate you turning 16 and what not. That whole birthday thing we did last year." He leaned over to look into the living room when Naiden didn't answer him right away. His eyes were locked on the TV instead of his school work. Tony raised an eyebrow.

He sighed a little and walked out. "Hey, did you hear,... me?" Tony had turned to see what was distracting the teenager and felt a pain in his chest.

CEO OF STARK INDUSTRIES TONY STARK MISSING

Tony swallowed thickly and dropped into the chair next to the couch. He knew what day it was, of course he did. He had talked himself up for this, thought maybe he could just let it pass. He had already lived it once, right?

Tony glanced at the clock on the screen as the reporters talking about their breaking news. Right about now he would going through a crude surgery with a magnet and a car battery. And Yinsen.

Tony pushed himself up quickly and Naiden glanced over with wide eyes. "Next week, London yeah?" Tony carried on and headed back towards the kitchen. "I'll find a hat and some sunglasses to try and hold off the Holmes fans."

"Tony," Naiden pushed himself off the couch and padded out to the kitchen. "Is this supposed to happen?"

"Not really, I mean I never understood why people thought I looked like Robert Downey Jr," Tony shrugged. "I guess I can admit that he's a little funnier than I am, but I am much better looking then he is." He could feel the glare that the boy was sending him.

"You know what I'm talking about." Tony turned to look at Naiden as he gripped a can.

"Yeah, I do," Tony said quietly. "And yeah, it's supposed to happen, it'll always happen, and there's nothing that I could have done to stop it." He squeezed his eyes shut and took a breath before facing Naiden again. "Just a little different being on the other side this time."

Tony froze when Naiden suddenly threw his arms around Tony and pulled him into a hug. Tony slowly relaxed and pulled an arm around his shoulders. Tony took a breath and several moments later he pulled away, grabbing the rest of the groceries on the counter. "Give it three months, it'll be over in three months." Because lying to himself had become easier lately.

* * *

Three years after their arrival to Portsmouth Tony and Naiden were sitting on the couch, looking down. Naiden had a hand over his mouth as Tony rested his chin in his hand. "I didn't think-"

"Yeah," Tony nodded.

"And they all-"

"Yup," Tony answered quietly.

"You didn't plan for this did you?"

"Nope." The two of them were staring down at seven college brochures, all of which had excepted Naiden with full ride scholarships. "College is a whole new beast, even I can't prepare you for this."

Naiden bit at his lip, worrying it between his teeth. He had been raised for 14 years in a cell, knowing only an instinct to want to live, of two sets of parents wanting to keep him protected. Tony had nearly exhausted himself in the three years it had taken to help Naiden acclimate to the sudden culture shock. Naiden know what Tony was doing, how the time was eating at him, at the pain that Tony hid. Because Loki wasn't with them.

"You're going to move too, right?" Naiden looked up at Tony and he blinked, raising his eyebrows slightly. "I don't want you to be alone." The unspoken Again hung between them.

"We can talk about that once you pick a place," Tony gestured back to the letters. "It's only a year until I can come back."

"Just enough time for you stay through freshman year," Naiden pointed out and Tony smirked a little.

"I think I've been a bad influence on you," Tony muttered.

* * *

Tony and Naiden sat on the floor of the Italian summer home. The sun had disappeared form the sky and Tony could hear his own boots coming up the stairs. Naiden glanced over and took Tony's hand in his own. At 19 he was a little taller than Tony, but not by much, he kept his hair just above his ears, and kept a trimmed shadow look of dark facial hair.

Tony squeezed his hand when he heard the glass break and the charging of the Iron Man suit. How he had missed the suit, missed the chance to fly through the air whenever he need to take a minute to himself. He missed his workshop, his missed it all.

Soon there was silence, but the pair sat there still, Tony staring straight ahead. "You wouldn't have been able to get him," Naiden said quietly. "You only would have upset the time stream even more."

Tony had been watching the news more and he had caught the end of a breaking news report about something in New Mexico. They both remembered talking about New Mexico, and the Destroyer, and his brother Thor. It took everything Naiden had to keep Tony from flying straight to New Mexico instead of Italy. He almost didn't succeed.

"I know," Tony answered, barely audible. He took a breath and pushed himself up as the lights started to clicker back on, the skies revealing sun and wind again. "JARVIS?"

"It is good to have you back sir," the AI answered automatically and Tony bit back a strange sob that had crawled up the back of his throat. "A pleasure to greet you again, Mr Naiden."

"Long time no see, JARVIS," Naiden greeted quietly.

"There's a lot to get done in a short amount of time," Tony said as he headed down towards the main floor. "We'll have to charter a plane, and then call Pepper, and won't that be fun trying to explain just a fraction of this to her-"

"Sir, if I may," JARVIS interrupted and Tony stopped and blinked. Right, JARVIS usually set this stuff up. "I still have the recordings from four years ago." Tony's head snapped up. "they have been saved on one of my separate hard drives."

"I could kiss you," Tony muttered and nodded. "Good, that'll help when she gets angry." Naiden just followed behind Tony as he rambled and walked through the house, grabbing all the things he would need, like his forgotten wallet and other personal objects. "The news will have to go out about you," he glanced at Naiden, and won't that just be a field day."

"You can pair it with your plans for the plans of the Arc Reactor, sir," JARVIS suggested and Tony nodded. "I have contacted your private jet sir, a driver shall arrive shortly."

"Thanks for reminding me how much I missed you JARVIS," Tony looked up and grinned, aiming it at a camera.

"You do seem rather stressed, and I believe that you have grayed a little more." Tony's expression dead panned and Naiden choked on a laugh.

Tony locked the house as they walked to the black town car that was waiting outside. Tony let Naiden slide in first before following him. "So it's going to be the-" Tony looked up when Naiden pulled on his sleeve. "Coulson?" Tony's eyebrows shot up. "I thought you were in New Mexico?"

"You were supposed to be in Malibu," the SHIELD Agent replied easily. "You had a meeting with Director Fury. But we didn't actually think you would remember after all this time."

"What?" Tony was confused. Sure, now that he had been reminded he remembered that after the battle with Vanko, (that he got to watch on TV this time) Fury had demanded a debriefing meeting.

"We've moved the meeting, we should be there in a few minutes," he smiled as the car started to move.

"And I was in such a good mood, too," Tony sighed and leaned back in the car. Naiden just looked between the two men, studying the agent that Tony had talked about, if just briefly.

"It's nice to meet you Naiden," Coulson offered a hand and the younger Stark shook it hesitantly.

"Same?" Naiden raised his own eyebrows. He didn't have much time to focus on it whent he car did in fact stop soon after and the door opened. He watched Tony get out and quickly followed before they could say otherwise.

The two walked into a room filled with large screens running news reports, including scenes of the Stark Expo and New Mexico, with a table and two chairs in the middle. "Has that homey touch to it," Naiden muttered as Tony put his hands in his pockets.

Tony walked up to the table and saw a couple of folders, and he tilted his head and stepped up and started to turn them towards him. He thought he saw the word Avengers before another hand was placed over the folder.

"I don't think I want you looking at that," Tony looked up to meet Nick Fury's gaze. "I don't think it pertains to you anymore." Naiden raised an eyebrow as he walked around watching the different screens. Was that New York? "Now this on the other hand, is Agent Romanoff's assessment of you. Read it."

Right, the not-Natalie Rushman. He took the folder and opened it. ""Personality overview. Mr Stark displays compulsive behaviour.' In my own defense," Tony stumbled on how to finish that, "that was last week. 'Prone to self-destructive tendencies,' I was dying," Tony looked up at the unyielding look of Fury. How often had he been dying lately? Too often. "I mean please, aren't we all? Textbook narcissism?" Naiden glanced over his shoulder. "Agreed."

Tony skimmed through the paper, over the other glowing words from the red head. "Okay, here it is," he pointed to the paper. ""Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative. Iron Man? Yes. ' You know, I'm gonna have to think about it." Tony leaned back in the chair.

"Read on." Fury prompted. Naiden turned and started to approach the two men.

"Tony Stark, not..." Tony trailed off and frowned as Naiden glanced over his shoulder.

"Not recommended?" The younger finished.

"That doesn't make any sense," Tony looked up. "How can you approve me but, not approve me? I got a new ticker," he tapped the arc reactor. He had to retrain himself on his own timeline. "I'm trying to do right by Pepper, not give her any more ulcers. I'm in a," he paused and Naiden noticed it, "stable-ish relationship." Naiden squeezed a hand on his shoulder.

"Which leads us to believe," Fury leaned forward a little, "that at this juncture we'd only like to use you as a consultant."

Tony raised an eyebrow then stood up, shaking his head. "You can't afford me." He then thought of the coming medal ceremony. "Then again, I'll waive my customary retainer in exchange for a small favour."

Fury raised an eyebrow. "I'll see what I can do." Tony smirked slightly and turned to leave, Naiden next to him. "How do you feel now that you've become accustomed to Earth, Naiden?" Both men stopped in mid step. Naiden's eyes were wide as Tony whipped his body back around.

"What did you say?" Tony took a couple steps closer as Naiden slowly turned around.

"Four years of hiding, I'm impressed Stark," Fury continued, watching Stark as he got closer. "Something must have happened if you're suddenly able to keep from the public eye, for the most part, and hide a so called adoption from the press, and yourself, for so long."

Tony saw red. "You son a bitch!" Naiden jumped to attention and ran forward, grabbing Tony's arms as he launched himself at Fury. For his credit Fury hadn't moved. "You knew?! You've been watching me! You never told me?!"

"Were you not the one who told your butler to keep it all hidden from yourself?" Fury shot back.

"That's different! I couldn't know! You, you though," Tony pulled against Naiden, dragging his feet across the ground a little. "You knew," he hissed and narrowed his eyes. "And you let us stay there, you let me get set-up, you let me-" Tony's voice broke off, his body heaving with his heavy breaths.

"Tony, come on," Naiden said quietly. "Let's just go."

"You won't have to worry about informing Miss Potts," Fury told them. "I thought I'd save you that little headache, she knows as much as we know."

"Which seems to be a-god-damned-lot," Tony hissed, letting Naiden pull him back. Tony clenched his fists then pulled away from the younger man. "I better not see you again anytime soon." He spit out and turned with Naiden, leaving for good this time.

* * *

"Pleeeeeease, Pepper," Naiden begged as they stood around the big screen. "I'm almost 21."

"But you're not," she smirked, keeping her eyes on the energy readings, the glow of the screen, and Naiden's well placed magical torches, keeping the room lit.

The comm line crackled to life as Tony's voice came over. "You're good on this end. The rest is up to your two."

"You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid?" She started moving things on the screen, setting things up.

"Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy." They could hear Tony's grin through the speakers.

"Not the least bit bashful, is he?" Pepper chuckled at the younger Stark.

"Wow," she glanced at the levels, finger poised over the execution button. "So maybe our reactor takes over and it actually works?"

"I assume. Light her up." Pepper pressed her finger to the button and they could hear the rumblings of the Arc Reactor powering up. There was a slight hum as lights and machines started to power on. Pepper and Naiden perked up, grinning.

"How does it look?" Pepper asked, wishing she could have Tony's view outside in the Iron Man suit.

"Like Christmas, but with more, Me." Naiden and Pepper shared a looked and an eye roll.

"Just get back here," Naiden told him. He reached over for one the flute glasses and then for the champagne, but Pepper pressed a bottle of sparkling cider in his hand. "Oh come on!"

"Not 21 yet," she pointed as Tony landed on the balcony outside. "Everything's looking stable," she smiled at Tony and handed him a glass. Tony grinned and wrapped an arm around their shoulders.

"It's so nice being us right now," Naiden rolled his eyes and rolled out from under the arm, trying to sneak the bottle of champagne from the table.

"Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line," JARVIS announced and Tony sighed a little and he pulled out his phone.

"You've reached the live model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message," Tony stared at the phone and Naiden tried not to laugh.

"This is urgent Stark," Coulson's voice came through the phone.

"Then leave it urgently."

"It can't wait," the elevator doors opened.

"Security breach," Tony muttered, shooting a glare at Pepper and Naiden.

"Phil," Pepper smiled and walked over to him. Tony and Naiden shared a shocked look.

"Um, his first name is Agent," Tony said as the two Starks followed.

"Miss Potts," Coulson smiled at Pepper then looked at Tony, glancing at Naiden. "We need you Stark."

"Ah, consulting hours are every other Thursday-" Tony started and took a step back when Coulson pushed a tablet towards him. "Ah, I got a thing-"

"Here," Pepper grabbed Naiden's drink before he could sip it, handed it to Coulson, took the tablet, then took Tony's drink putting the tablet in his hands.

"Hey!" Both Starks exclaimed, frowning. Tony sulked off to the desk with Pepper behind him, muttering some about Agents and Phils, grabbing another glass from the small table as he passed by. Naiden raised an eyebrow at Coulson and turned to follow them.

"Naiden," he stopped at the soft call of his name. "It's about Loki." Naiden straightened and looked back at the SHIELD Agent.

"This had better not be a joke," Naiden took a step closer. There was a shatter of glass and Naiden turned to see Tony staring at several screen and moving images.

Loki's picture in the center.


	5. Confessions By A NightLight Heart

Tony's muscles were tense as he flew through the air. "I think I found him," Naiden's voice came through the helmet. Tony looked at the HUD and turned towards Naiden's position.

"In Germany?" Tony frowned a little.

"I said I think," Naiden responded. "It was a very weak energy, but I think this is it." The man sat down on one of the benches and took a breath. He hadn't used much of his magic except around Loki, and that was years ago. Naiden had opened his mouth to tell Tony something else when a familiarly infuriating voice interrupted.

"Stark, I need you in Stuttgart," Tony tensed a little at the demand. He glanced at the map that JARVIS had brought up and was a little proud of Naiden. Kid had gotten it in one.

"Already on my way," Tony bit out, cutting the line. "Naiden, keep your eyes open. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Naiden nodded and pushed himself up from the bench. He was happy that no one had been around, but the only teleportation spell he knew was rather taxing on his unhoned magic.

He watched the square carefully, but only the few pedestrians walked by. Until he heard the screams. The people started to file out of the building and Naiden ran from the bench to the middle of the square, trying to push past the people. He felt his breath catch when he saw Loki walking out, his clothes changing to full battle armor.

"Tony," he choked out, but wasn't sure that the man had heard him over the screaming. He saw Loki's mouth move, but was pushed back with the crowd as more images of Loki appeared around them.

"I said Kneel!" Loki shouted and everything went silent. It didn't take long for the frightened people to move at once, getting down. Naiden was pulled down by some of the people around him, to scared to be caught around him. Loki smirked as he started to move through the crowd. "Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state?"

This wasn't Loki, not the Loki that Tony and he knew. He was within reach, if only Naiden had the room to move his arm away from the people. He didn't hear what Loki was saying, only focused on his one goal.

"Look to your elder, people," Loki looked around and Naiden caught sight of his eyes. Bright, swirling, blue. "Let him be an example." Naiden reached out as someone suddenly landed in front of the man that had spoken to Loki, saving his life. His hand had grazed over Loki's jacket as the people started to run, pushing him away.

It was the loud music that announced his arrival, and had thrown off the battle below him. Tony landed, his arm outstretched towards the man, the same man that he had fought with for 15 years. Tony was thankful that JARVIS had taken over most of his motions. "Make a move, Reindeer Games." Tony's eyes glanced over and spotted Naiden standing off to the side.

Loki raised his arms from the ground, armour disappearing. His wrists were devoid of any silver bracelets. "Stark." The voice to his side brought Tony back to reality.

"Captain," Tony responded. The jet with Natasha in it landed and Captain America moved forward to secure Loki's hands. Naiden ran over to Tony as he took his helmet off.

"That's not Loki," Naiden said quietly. "His eyes are wrong, it can't be him," he whispered desperately. Tony watched as Loki was led to the jet and he placed a hand on Naiden's back.

"Come on," Tony said, moving on autopilot. "Let's get this sorted out.

* * *

Naiden sat out in the hall, his knees pulled up to his chest as Tony walked past him and into the room. If Tony seemed tense, Naiden couldn't blame him. He had just come from a debriefing with Fury. He settled for listening to the conversation he feared hearing.

Tony walked in and circled around the cell until Loki was looking at him. He couldn't deny the wrongness of his glowing blue eyes. The eyes he knew were an emerald green, and they shone whenever he had looked at a younger Naiden, or whenever Tony had said something stupid that shouldn't have been funny.

"Loki," Tony called out, his voice stronger than he thought.

The god looked Tony up and down and something registered in his mind before it disappeared. "I'm impressed that such a weak mortal forced my hand into a defeat," Loki growled out, not moving from his position. "But without your suit you are not much of a force."

"What happened to you?" Tony took a step closer to the cell. "Even when I met you, your weren't full of this hatred."

Loki snorted and turned his head a little. "You can not hope to wish to know the inner workings of my mind. You deign to claim knowledge of my actions? How pathetic."

"Pathetic?" Tony's eyes narrowed slightly. He was mad at Fury, and he knew it, but he couldn't help the anger seeping out. "I wasn't pathetic enough to save your life! I wasn't pathetic enough for you to save mine! You have no idea what I went through for you." Tony's hands tightened into fists, skin turning white. "You left us alone!"

"You left me there to die!" Loki shouted back and Tony took a step back from the outburst.

"Don't you dare," Tony growled out. "There was a plan, and you knew it! You didn't grab my hand!" Tony's arms were starting to shake. "Why? Why didn't you just take my hand?" Tony thought he saw a flash of green in the gods' eyes.

Until Loki started to laugh. "Pathetic," he breathed out. Tony clenched his jaw and turned, leaving the room quickly. Naiden looked up sadly and watched Tony storm past, only to be stopped by Fury.

"What the hell was that, Stark?" Naiden stood up as Tony shot daggers with his eyes at Fury.

"That's something that I don't think I want you knowing about," Tony growled out.

"I've got a war criminal locked up in my base, and you're in there confessing your glowing heart in there, I think that makes me a little in the need to know," Fury shot back at him, not backing down.

"This is a path you don't want to continue down," Naiden said softly behind Tony.

"No, he wants to know so bad, let him keep going," Tony said, never taking his eyes off of the Director. "He can't stand not knowing all the information, so he should know. Do you want to know every detail?" Tony stepped up and the two humans were standing chest to chest. "Do you want to know what happened before SHIELD decided to start watching me?"

"Tony," Naiden put a hand on his arm but the inventor shrugged it off. "It's not worth it Tony." This time Naiden pushed himself between Tony and Fury, looking at the man he'd grown up with all his life. Tony looked at Naiden and his gaze softened slightly, his jaw tightened as he tried to reign in his wayward emotions.

"I'll be in the lab with Banner," Tony said shortly and brushed past Fury. Naiden walked back to his spot on the floor by the door, leaning his arms on his knees. It may not be the Loki they remembered, but he wouldn't leave him alone, wouldn't stray from his side.

"The next time you try that," Naiden looked up as Fury turned to leave the hallway, "you had better be prepared."

"Is that a threat?" Fury asked, eyebrow arched.

"If you knew what you were embarking on, you wouldn't have to ask that question." Naiden looked back towards the steel door.

* * *

Naiden had watched Natasha walked into the room, though she probably thought him asleep. He also watched when she walked out, her pace much faster this time. He sat up a little and frowned. Naiden closed his eyes again and stretched his sense out across the Hellicarrier. He could sense Tony, sense the tension that was suddenly in the room, could sense the movement below on the main deck, and could sense the utter stillness of Loki. Naiden still wasn't able to pinpoint what had changed Loki, but knew it had something to do with his eyes.

His eyes shot open when he sensed several others approaching from outside, all with the same strange energies as Loki. Naiden scrambled to his feet quickly and started running down the hall. A sudden explosion rocked the carrier and Naiden fell against the wall. He grabbed in his pocket for the communicator Tony had slipped him earlier and could hear yelling between the Agents.

There was running down the hall and Naiden ducked into the closest room, not sure if they were SHIELD or intruders. "Stark! We're losing altitude!"

"Working on it dear!" Tony's voice came over the comm as Naiden could feel the carrier starting to tilt a little.

"If we lose another engine-" That was Agent Hill's voice and Naiden held his breath when he heard talking. A sudden roar reverberated through the aircraft and Naiden froze. Shit was going down, and they were packed up nice and neat in a handbasket being carried by Hel herself.

"Naiden?" Tony's voice came through the comm and he could tell it was a private chat. JARVIS was amazing.

"I'm fine, I'm safe," Naiden replied quietly.

"Then why are you whispering?" Tony knew him too well.

"There are people running back and forth, and I'm not sure if they're friend or foe," he admitted.

"Don't do anything that I would," Tony warned him. "They've taken down two engines, managed to get Banner to Hulk out, and who knows what else they could do." I can't lose you, too.

"Don't worry," Naiden told him. "Just get this floating prison back upright." He saw Thor run by when looked out the door and the comm went back to the chaos of multiple voices. It wasn't until he saw Coulson walk back that he decided he needed to know what was happening in the room.

Slipping out the room and keeping against the wall he headed for the door. Until he saw Loki walking past, the strange staff in his hands. He ran into the room and saw Loki pulling his arm back, the staff aimed for Coulson's back.

"Loki!" Loki turned his head, the staff piercing Coulson's shoulder, the clone of Loki in front of him disappearing, Thor yelling from inside the cell. Someone grabbed Naiden's arms from behind, pulling him back as Loki turned to look at him, eyes narrowed.

Loki stood in front of him, eyeing him up and down. "Take him with us," Loki told the man holding him. "It will hurt Stark even more." He reached up and pulled the communicator from Naiden's ear before turning back and walking over the controls for the cell.

"Loki! Don't do this!" Naiden struggled against the arms, trying to keep buried memories of the Yar. He was pulled from the room, not before he saw the cell with Thor rush down towards the ground.

* * *

"Agent Coulson is down." Tony looked up and over at Steve at the statement.

"Paramedic's are on their way-"

"They're here," Fury stated. Tony's fists clenched a little "Stark, he took Naiden." Tony froze and Steve jumped down closer to Tony.

"Tony?" Steve asked quietly, watching the billionaire. Tony didn't say anything and walked back inside, the Captain right behind him.

Tony had shed the rest of his suit and found Fury and Steve up on the main deck around the table. Fury locked eyes with him and Tony knew this wasn't going to be pleasant. He saw some bloodied Captain America cards on the table. "I need to know everything you know about Loki, you no longer have a choice."

Steve turned to look at Tony. "You knew Loki before this?"

Tony grit his teeth but didn't look away from the Director. "I knew a completely different person, that is not the same man."

"I don't care if he turns out not be a man!" Fury growled out. "I need to know what the hell happened!"

"You wanna know so bad? You wanna know what Hell we went through?" Tony's fingers fisted so tight they turned white. "I knew him for 15 years, I fought for my life next to him. We fought to keep Naiden alive for 5 of those years." Tony could feel a deep tingling in his bones that he hadn't felt since he and Naiden arrived back on Earth. "We fought because we Had to!"

Steve's eyes were wide. Fury didn't even blink.

"That place doesn't have a name, it also doesn't have a time flow."

"What does it have?" Steve asked hesitantly.

"It has fighting, and death. That's it." Tony bit out. He grit his teeth and shut his eyes as he started to roll his shoulders through a sudden discomfort. He reached a hand towards his neck.

"What the hell is that, Stark?" Tony knew they could see the armour.

"Something that will never let me forget," he muttered. He told them both everything, told them about the battles, about Naiden as a child, about his parents. He didn't tell them about the private moments that he and Loki shared, the raw vulnerability that no one else, not even Pepper or Frigga, had ever seen from the two men. No, that he wouldn't tell them.

Steve wanted to comfort Tony, had realized that he was wrong about Tony, everything he'd said and thought was wrong.

"You know Loki," Tony's head snapped up to look at Fury. "Where would he go? Would he kill Nai-"

"No," Tony stopped him. "No, he wouldn't. I don't care who he is now, he's never hurt Naiden."

"I hope your're right, Stark." Fury reached to his belt and pulled off a bag that had been behind his jacket. He threw it on the table and it slid towards Tony. "He left you a present." Tony grabbed the bag and opened it, pulling out one of his gauntlets. One of the gauntlets that had saved his life, that he had left behind. Tony felt a pit in his stomach.

* * *

Naiden stepped onto the roof of Stark Tower behind Loki, his hands bound in front of him. He saw the device with the Tesseract and frowned a little. He had noticed that the cube had just been placed, he still had time. As they walked closer and Loki and Dr Selvig talked Naiden looked around, then saw the main power cords.

Naiden placed a foot over the connectors and started to roll it, slowly loosening the cords. He stopped when a hand suddenly gripped between his shoulder and his neck. "I would not do that if I were you," Loki's voice hissed in his ear.

"I have to," Naiden responded. "I can't let you do this, not to this world."

"You would defend this world? Loki's grip had loosened slightly. "This world so full of weak creatures? You have potential inside of you." Loki's hand grew warm and Naiden felt a tingle travel through his body.

"This place gave me freedom, you sent me here." He grit his teeth and pushed down on his foot, pulling the cords apart. He could heard the machine powering down and he was suddenly pulled back and forcefully turned around. "JARVIS! Cut power to top 10 levels! Call-" He inhaled sharply when Loki's hand wrapped around his neck.

"I can not let you stop this," Loki growled and threw him to the ground. There was crackling sound and Loki pulled out of the small communicator he had taken earlier.

"Naiden? Naiden, can you hear me!" Tony's voice could barely be heard and Loki looked at Naiden with a slow grin, his scepter starting to glow.

* * *

"The portal has been powered down, sir," JARVIS informed Tony as he flew towards the Tower. "Master Naiden has ordered power to be cut from the top levels of the of the building, also. I can not communicate with him now."

"That's my boy," Tony whispered to himself, righting himself as one of the boots shorted again. As the Tower came into view he saw Loki standing on the balcony, waiting for him. Tony swallowed and landed on the balcony, the dismantling station working on its own power to remove the suit from him. Tony and Loki kept eye contact as they both moved inside.

"Anthony Stark, it surely has been a while," Loki spoke as Tony moved behind the bar. He reached for a glass, slipping a couple of bracelets on his wrists.

"So, now you feel like talking?" Tony glanced up as he poured an amber liquid into the glass. "Because, I thought you wanted to yell at me back when we were 30,000 feet in the air."

"I am nothing if not civilized, you should know this," Loki responded as he watched Tony drain the glass. "Also, I feel that I will have your undivided attention." He motioned to the couch and Tony looked over, feeling the glass slip from his fingers to the bar. Tony almost ran over to Naiden, sliding to his knees to see that blue flecks shimmered through his gold eyes.

"Naiden? Naiden, come on kid," Tony shook his arms but the younger Stark didn't move.

"He is unharmed," Loki spoke and Tony stood up quickly, facing him. "I merely needed your attention, and your co-operation."

"This isn't you, Loki," Tony walked towards the God. "What happened to you?"

Loki's eyes narrowed and his lip pulled up slightly in a sneer. "Another ten years left to carry out Your debt," Loki hissed. Tony's eyes widened slightly. "You're debt for trying to save my life! With you gone they took it from me."

Tony reached a hand up towards Loki's face but the taller man grabbed his wrist and laughed. "Such a delicate balance, the thin veil that holds things together." Loki reached up with his scepter, placing the point of it on his arc reactor. "Allow me to break that for you."

Tony gasped when he felt something travel through the reactor, vibrating through his very being. He could feel something pulling, could feel it in his bones, and he arched his back against the pain. He wheezed in a breath and felt his knees start to wobble. An arm wrapped around his waist, holding him up. "Someone has been dying to see you again." Loki's lips moved against Tony's ears.

Loki moved from his sight, arm still holding him up. The glow of the scepter and arc reactor died down and Tony's eyes widened.

"Anthony Edward Stark. A most interesting mortal. I was never able to show you to my Mistress." A feral grin crossed the face of the Titan Thanos.


	6. Change of Pace

"I'll admit, I missed our time together." Tony watched the heavy boots pace in front of him, his hand clutching at this chest as he lay on his side. "All the information I was able to glean off of you. And then, you were gone. I was mad, Anthony, I may have taken it out on Loki, but then I found out that he was full of even more information."

Tony squeezed his eyes shut when he felt another tremor of pain shoot through his chest. "What did you do to him?" Tony tried to make his voice loud, strong, steady.

"He wouldn't give me what I wanted to know, not willingly," Thanos stopped moving and Tony lifted his eyes up. "It was locked up in his mind, in a little corner, a corner he thought was safe." The titan grinned. "I ripped it from his mind. It was a fragile thing in the first place, but oh, how it worked. You two are some of the more intelligent beings I've run across."

That's why Loki wasn't their Loki anymore. Tony wasn't there to save him, he wasn't there to keep Loki grounded. Naiden had seen it right away, in his eyes, back in Germany. Tony glanced over to the still man on his couch. He should have listened more carefully.

"I can see that you mortals have done a good attempt at thwarting my attempts to bring about my army," Thanos continued, turning towards the window. "It's a good thing that I had a secondary plan, and a good thing that you were still alive."

Tony was suddenly flipped onto his back, staring up into the amoured face of a Yar soldier. The Chitauri were waiting for their portal. The Yar had hitched a ride with Thanos when Loki had used Tony's reactor as a power source. A smaller version of the machine he saw on the roof was placed over his body, the Tersseract sitting in a cradle directly over his chest.

"I had hoped that I wouldn't have to do it this way. I wanted to keep you alive." Thanos turned back and looked down at Tony as a couple of wires were attached to the reactor. "You may live through this yet, you survived for 15 years." The tesseract started to spin, glowing brighter along with the reactor, and Tony arched his back up when he felt the pulling from before.

Loki watched, because that's what he had been ordered to do. He sat in a chair, unmoving, as the Titan played with the mortal. No, his mortal. Thanos had promised him Tony and Naiden when it was all over. Had promised to restore his mind, his sanity, his boys, just as long as he got the Tesseract.

This wasn't how it was supposed to turn out, though. Naiden sat on the couch, still bound, his mind locked within. How Loki wished to be like that, merely a prisoner, not a puppet. Tony, his Tony. Loki looked at the man, on the floor, screaming as the power of the Tesseract flooded through his body.

Outside he could see the Chitauri. Some flying through the air, others leaping onto buildings, destroying. Thanos' plan had worked. All the years he had spent studying Tony had paid off, he had found out enough about the arc reactor to use it to open the portal. And now it would probably kill Tony.

"Loki." A voice whispered in his mind and he frowned. He looked over and suddenly saw golden eyes staring at him. There was a shift and Loki inhaled suddenly.

From Naiden's point of view he saw the blue suddenly bleed from Loki's eyes, quickly being replaced with an emerald green. He slumped back against the couch, unable to fight past the spell on his own mind anymore.

Loki hand gripped the scepter suddenly as his eyes surveyed the scene in front of him. He had to stop the portal. Stopping the portal saved Tony. Tony, he had to save Tony, it was just something that he did. He slowly pushed himself up from the chair, neither Thanos nor the Yar guard paying him any attention.

He stepped over to Tony and crouched down slowly. His hand cupped Tony's cheek and the hazel eyes flicked to his. Loki's long fingers slid down to his chest, gripping one of the wires, and he could feel the raw power of of the arc reactor and the magic of the tesseract. It was a powerful combination, and it was taxing Tony's body.

He felt the connection and ripped it out. The Tesseract shook slightly, letting out a wave of power that caught the attention of Thanos. His eyes narrowed and he growled at Loki. Loki quickly pulled the other wires out of Tony's reactor and the Tesseract wobbled dangerously in its cradle. Standing up at the last second, he held the scepter in front of him and threw himself back to avoid Thanos' fist.

"You worthless being!" Thanos roared as Loki quickly caught his balance. "I gave you power! I was going to give you a planet! And this is how you repay me?"

"You were going to raze this planet to the ground," Loki hissed out at him. "You can't lie to the God of Lies."

"You readily believed the words when I promised you this mortal, and that elf," Thanos suddenly grinned at him as he spoke. They both knew that Tony and Naiden were closer to Loki. There was no way that he'd be able to protect himself and the two men on his own. "You forget, you gave yourself to me in exchange for their lives. I own you, Little Prince."

"Nobody owns me," Loki hissed and he swept the scepter around him in a circle, driving the two back.

"Get Naiden." Loki would have missed the pained words if he hadn't of been keeping one eye on Tony. He had turned to his side, holding himself up with one arm. "Get out, I've got a suit here."

Loki opened his mouth to argue then saw the look from Tony and the quickly approaching Thanos. Moving quickly he stepped past the cradle, wrapping the unstable Tesseract in a cloak that followed him, then wrapped an arm around Naiden's waist. Thanos roared at him and Loki quickly released the spell in his head, the two of them disappearing from the building.

Tony smiled faintly, relief rushing through his body. Until the Yar guard grabbed him by the back of the neck and lifted him up from the ground. Tony reached up and activated the bracelets for his untested suit. He didn't know what would happen if this didn't work in his favour.

* * *

Loki appeared with Naiden down in front of Stark Tower. He gripped the scepter tightly as his knee buckled slightly. He set him down and tapped the tip against his chest. There was an explosion down the street and he ducked over Naiden quickly. The blue faded from Naiden's eyes and he suddenly sucked in a breath.

"Loki!" The god turned, an arm around Naiden's shoulders to keep him close. He saw the Captain and the red-headed woman stop in front of him. "Let him go Loki!"

Loki narrowed his eyes. "No one will separate me from this boy," he growled out. "He is my charge, and I shall keep him by my side."

"Loki," Natasha hissed at him. Naiden groaned, catching the attention of the others. Naidens hand were free and he rubbed his head, not noticing that Loki held onto him. Loki whispered something to him in a different language and it had the two Avengers on edge.

Naiden's eyes suddenly widened and he turned in Loki's arms, then suddenly threw his arms around the taller mans neck tightly. "Loki," the younger man breathed out. There was a crackled of lightning and Thor appeared between the two heroes and the reunited pair.

"Brother!" Thor took a step closer and Loki instinctively pulled Naiden behind him. "Let him go, stop this-"

"I have stopped you oaf," Loki hissed out and Naiden put a hand on his arm. "If your little group has not noticed, the portal is gone, although the Chitauri still run rampant in your realm." Loki swallowed slightly and Naiden's hand moved down to grip his own. "Thor, I need you to watch over Naiden." Thor moved closer, hand still gripping Mjolnir tightly, just in case. "Protect him with your very life, for my own is what I would give up for him.

"Loki," Naiden pulled on his arm, frowning. "What are you thinking?"

"We aren't going to let you go," Natasha spoke, remind them that she was still there. Captain America had disappeared back into the fray of battle. "You've caused-"

"You do not have much of a choice," Loki snapped back. "I've no idea when Tony will be able to join into the battle, and I must do something to end this. The Chitauri are the least of your worries if what is in that Tower breaks free. You will have wish that I had been the only one wreaking havoc."

"You aren't up for this," Naiden said quietly. "I can feel it, you're barely-"

"You are weaker than I, and I will not have anything else happen to you while I am of a right mind," Loki turned to look at him as Thor stepped closer. "It has been almost seven years since I have seen either of you, since I have actually been able to call my thoughts my own, and I will not allow this realm that you have made a home be destroyed. Not because of my foolish actions."

"You're emotions are showing," Naiden said quietly, a small, albeit sad, smile crossing his features. "Don't let Tony know, he'll be upset he missed it."

Thor placed a hand over Loki's shoulder, trying to ignore the way that Loki's tensed up slightly. "Brother, I shall watch over him as if he were my own." Loki nodded at the words and took a couple steps back. "Although I do wish you would tell me-"

"Afterwards, Thor," Loki said and turned, walked away from the group, Natasha still following him with her guns out. "Watch out for Tony, he is as vulnerable as I am!" Loki called out before disappearing in a flash of green.

* * *

Tony knew it was a bad idea, most of them were, but as his body went crashing through the glass and over the balcony, he thought he should have listened to himself for once. Luckily there was an Iron Man suit on it's way down to help him out. As it wrapped around his body and quickly righted himself and used the boosters to soften his landing on the ground.

"JARVIS, comm up, now," Tony breathed out, locking the knee joints to keep himself standing. He physically wasn't ready, but he didn't have a choice with the way the Chitauri were running about. "Hey dolls, I'm back. Who missed Daddy?"

"Tony!" He blinked at the chorus of voices calling his name. "About damn time!" That was Barton.

"Missed you too Legolas," Tony shook his head and launched into the air, following the readouts that were displayed on his HUD. "I see you guys started the party without me."

"From what we understand, you started it," Natasha spoke up. "You have one messed up idea of a party, Stark."

"You knew that last year, Nat," Tony shot back. He blasted a couple of the aliens out of the sky. "Okay, now the question that everyone is avoiding telling me-"

"Naiden is safe, with myself," Thor's voice came over the comm and Tony let out a little sigh. "Loki has disappeared into the battle."

"He seems to actually be helping us," and he'd be damned is Steve didn't sound a little confused.

"Don't worry about that, I got this," Tony flew off around a corner, leading a few flyers to crash as they missed the tight turn.

"I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, Stark." It was always a pleasant surprise to hear Fury in his ear. "I when this is done I want that madman-"

"That's my madman you're talking about," Tony warned in a teasing tone. "How about we worry about saving the city, and the world first." He saw a flash of green down on the ground where a large number of Chitauri were gathering. "Excuse me while I show you amateurs how this is done." He cut the thrusters in his boots and dropped while shooting a couple of enemies away, landing with his back to Loki. "Well, doesn't this bring back memories."

"It would be a change of pace if I didn't have to heal you after this," Loki easily responded. They moved in tandem, fighting like they used to for fifteen years. Tony tuned out anything said over the comm lines as his mind fell into a familiar set. He was fighting with Loki again, with him, not against him.

And if Hawkeye was a little impressed as he watched them from up on his rooftop, he'd be sure to let the two men know in private. He still hated Loki for what he did, but somehow, watching the two of them, he knew that there was something there that would let him get over it. He resolved to talking to Tony and Loki when it was all over. He knew he had to.

"I've cleared the area over here," Natasha called out.

"It's clear with us," Naiden had claimed the comm from Thor as he fought the enemies around them. "We're going to go and see how Banner held up."

"He seems to be meandering around, a little sad there's nothing left to smash," Barton filled in.

"I'm clear," Steve looked around. "Is this all a little suspicious?"

"No," Barton quickly interjected. "They've all gathered in one spot. I'd suggest moving to help out Tony and Loki. They've been fighting non stop for almost an hour, it's-"

"Something they're used too," Naiden interrupted him, even as Thor guided him towards the others. "Don't worry too much about them, just worrying about taking out those that they can't see."

"Are we going to get answers after all this is over?" Clint asked.

"That's up to them," Naiden replied. "It's not my story to tell, mine is nearly as interesting as theirs is."

"Hawkeye," Steve spoke up as everyone started to move. "Keep them out of the air, Thor use the lightning to help. Natasha, get over there and start taking them out. I'm going to see if Banner is still angry and we'll be over there to help out."

"No!" Tony's voice stopped them. "Get to the Tower, keep it secure."

"Tony, this isn't the time to sentimental," Natasha growled at him.

"There are two other nasties up there," Tony shot back. "If they get loose then everything that Loki and I are doing will be nothing but a fucking show! And it'll be on repeat for a very long time." They could hear a voice int he background and assumed it was Loki's. "Thor will understand when Naiden tells him who it is."

Tony and Loki saw the crash of lightning. "I told you so," Loki grinned slightly at Tony who rolled his eyes.

"Lucky guess," Tony muttered as he ducked and shot at a warrior, taking his weapon and turning it on three others.

* * *

Naiden had been forced to wait for the others on the lower levels as Thor made his way up to Thanos. Apparently the Titan was well known to Asgardians, and Thor was not a happy camper. He heard the Huilk climbing up the outside of the tower, glass breaking. The top half of the Tower was already mostly destroyed, what's a few more windows?

Naiden stepped up to closer to one of the broken windows and looked out to where he knew TOny and Loki were. He couldn't see anymore Chitauri in the air, and knew that after this long they must be almost done. He hoped they were, he didn't know how long the two of them could actually last in a battle, not when they had already been exhausted.

"There's nothing over there anymore," Naiden jumped and turned, sucking in a breath when he heard Tony's voice behind him. Loki had an arm around his shoulders and they both looked ready to drop. "The others upstairs still?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure how it's going. Every so often I feel a few tremors, but," he trailed off with a shrug.

"We should get up there," Loki said quietly, rearranging himself and gripping onto his scepter. "I should like to exchange this horrid thing for my regular staff."

"I liked the other better anyway, much less in the mind control department," Tony quipped.

"Tony, do not underestimate Thanos," Tony raised an eyebrow when Loki spoke. "When I sent you both away you left your weapons, and he studies them. He knows of the weaknesses of the suit."

Naiden watched Tony's jaw tense a little and he nodded. "Then I guess I'd better not give him a reason to use that knowledge." Tony then pointed at Naiden. "You stay down here, it's safer here." Naiden nodded once then moved forward, hugging Tony suddenly. He pat his back before he moved over and pulled Loki into a tighter hug.

"Neither one of you is allowed to leave again, alright?" He tried to keep his voice steady, but the two men knew it was hard for him. "I need both of you here," he whispered. Loki pressed a hand to the back of his neck and nodded. Naiden let go and the two men moved to the stairs.

Naiden let himself drop into a chair, hoping that he wouldn't lose another set of parents in a battle.

* * *

Tony poked his head in first and saw that there seemed to be a stand-off in his penthouse. There were a few Chitauri standing with the Yar guard in front of Thanos. Thor and the hulk stood front and center while the Captain, Clint, and Natasha were standing behind them, looking rather tired. All of Tony's furniture was gone, most likely the reason for the ashes and wood on the floor.

Tony let out a little cry and Loki grabbed his arm. "My bar, they've destroyed my bar." Loki stared at Tony for a second before hit Tony's shoulder. And he felt it through the armour.

"There are more important things than some broken glass," Loki muttered and pushed him into the room.

"Now it becomes interesting," Thanos murmured and the Avengers tried not to look away from the small group in front of them.

"You bet your button it will," Tony growled out as he and Loki stepped out in front of their heavy hitters. "You threw me out of a window, and then destroyed my bar. I loved that bar."

"Tony," Steve groaned out from behind him.

"I am still uncertain as to how you broke through my spell, sorcerer," Thanos looked at Loki as he spoke, "but be rest assured that I shall not let your human slip my grasp again."

"You'll not touch him," Loki answered automatically. He could practically feel the confusion of the others behind them.

There was a grumble and a snarl from the Yar guard and Tony sneered at him, his visor flipping down. "Let's finish this. That one," Tony pointed at the guard, "is mine."

The movement was sudden and all hell broke loose. Tony launched at the Yar, Loki went for Thanos, and the Chitauri brushed past them to take on the Avengers. The sound was something that Naiden could hear from below, which was the best and worst thing for him. He knew when not to go up, but he had no idea what was happening.

Tony aimed a hand at the guard and let the repulsor charge, firing off a shot. His eyes widened when the Yar blocked it and actually sent it back at him with its sword. He wasn't able to move before the charge hit the gauntlet and Tony stumbled back, cursing. He ripped the glove off as it start to spark and heat up. He was down to one gauntlet, and his enemy knew all about it. Not going to be fun.

Loki ducked underneath one of Thanos' big fists and brought up the end of his staff towards his face. Thanos moved and backhanded the god Loki slid back but caught his balance. A large purple first wrapped around the scepter and started to tug. "Have you ever thought about why it was so easy for me to infiltrate your mind, petty being?"

Loki narrowed his eyes, and smirked slightly when he felt someone come up behind him, wrapping their hands around his to push against Thanos. "I imagine he hasn't," Tony growled out. "You're not really worth that much thought, if I'm gonna be honest."

Thanos grinned and the scepter started to glow. "I gave you this scepter, I know how it works, I know it's effects, and how it affects, and infects." The two men narrowed their eyes at the Titan. "I have created a dependency on the scepter, with your fragile mind. What would happen should that link, break?" The scepter let out a creaking noise before cracks started to run along the length.

Loki stumbled back slightly into Tony's chest and he took in a breath. Tony's hands tightened over Loki's. Loki blinked when he felt something, something shifted, more than one thing. With every crack in the scepter something in his mind seemed to move.

"Let them go Thanos," Steve growled from behind. Tony glanced back and saw his teammates facing them, weapons and fists at the ready. Thanos was outnumbered and no amount of power could stop the combined efforts of the Avengers.

"Let us descend together, shall we?" Thanos laughed as the scepter suddenly shattered under his grip. Loki gasped as the glowing core of the scepter burst, encompassing the three of them and throwing them back. The Avengers covered their faces, turning and ducking away from the blast. Thor and Steve broke away to check on Loki and Tony respectively, while Clint, Natasha and Hulk went over to Thanos, the latter of the three sitting on the purple Titan and growling under his breath.

When Thor went to pick Loki up he stopped when Tony's arm had started to move. Stve noticed it and blinked. Tony and Loki's hand were threaded together tightly, despite their lack of consciousness.


	7. One Long Repeat

Tony opened his eyes and blinked rapidly. He was surrounded by darkness, by nothing, if he were to be honest with himself. He wasn't in the suit anymore, just in a t-shirt and some jeans, and it almost felt like he was falling. "Loki?' Tony called out, turning his head. "Hey, look, if you can hear me you should come on out. I better not be dead!" Tony sighed a little. "Naiden is gonna kill me."

There was a shift and Tony blinked when he moved. He looked around and saw something else, no, someone else, in green and black leathers. "Loki!" Tony turned and reached out his arm. The man didn't move and Tony moved his arms and legs, trying to get closer. There was a flash of light and Tony suddenly tumbled forward to the ground.

He pushed himself up and froze as his hands met dirt, wet dirt. Scrambling up Tony quickly wiped the blood soaked sand from his hands. He looked around and saw Loki, he was fighting with his staff, but there was someone else there. He watched as Loki took down his opponent then turn as the man behind him was suddenly struck down. Loki snarled and threw a spell at the other threat, one of anger and frustration, one that killed instantly. He glanced down at the body of who Tony assumed was a previous partner, then started to limp away as the Yar guards came to collect him.

"Sonofabitch," Tony mumbled, running a hand through his hair. These were Loki's memories. Tony ignored the fact that the dirt, sand, and blood was still on his hands and pants. That would make it too real.

The scene changed and he saw Loki sitting on a bed, but in a lavish bedroom, not the cell they had together. There were books open all over the bed, some had dropped to the floor, and Loki was rubbing his temples, murmuring under his breath. Tony took a step forward and Loki's head shot up to look at him. He could see something shift in his eyes, some emotions.

"Loki?" Tony asked softly.

"This isn't right," Loki said as he stretched his legs to move from the bed. He stood up, ignoring the books on the ground. He walked up to Tony and let his hand hover just above Tony's face. "You shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be here." He turned away just as quickly and Tony blinked. "None of this is right." He waved a hand and all the books suddenly closed. "I already know all of this, this is a repeat, one long repeat, something I've already done."

"Are you okay?" Tony frowned a little. He'd never heard Loki talk that fast and disjointed before. Sure, Tony talked like that sometimes, but that was when he was unable to get at his lab, or get the ideas in his head out.

Loki turned around suddenly and put a hand out. "You're real, you shouldn't be real. No one else is ever allowed to come here." Loki shook his head and his amour suddenly changed. Loki looked younger, his hair was shorter but still slicked back, and he wore a more casual outfit. "This isn't happening in the correct order. This shouldn't be happening. You shouldn't be here." He looked up at Tony. "But, I can't make you leave. I want to leave," he looked away again.

"Okay, this is gonna stop." Tony walked over and took Loki's arm.

"No!" There was a flash and Tony blinked and his arm dropped, Loki no longer in front of him. He turned around and blinked, seeing the familiar cell, Loki sitting on the bed, his legs crossed, staring straight ahead. The bars dropped and Tony watched as one guard came in and took Loki's arm. He was pulled up and Loki made no move to break away.

Tony followed behind them as Loki walked down the hall with the Yar. It didn't sit right with him that Loki made no attempt to break away, that he kept his head tilted towards the ground. Tony's stomach dropped when he knew where they were going. He had walked the exact same route numerous times before. This was where it all went to hell.

Loki was pushed into a dark room, one that Tony was all too familiar with. "You seemed to have changed, sorcerer," a low voice echoed through the room. Tony turned, trying to find which direction Thanos was speaking from. "I can help you, help your broken mind."

"This should not be happening," Loki murmured. "It is not right, this is not right."

"I can help make it right," this time Thanos spoke up louder. Tony looked up and saw his glowing eyes. "I can repair your mind." The titan moved closer and Loki lifted his head. "I can make it whole, I can give you what will repair you. All I need is one thing from you."

Tony surged forward and grabbed Loki's hand suddenly and the scene in front of them changed again. Loki took several deep breaths before he turned to look at Tony. Tony blinked when there was a chill around them and looked down when something blue seemed to spread from Loki's hands. He tried to pull away but Tony just gripped his hand tighter. As tight as he could before the numbness start to set in.

Tony and Loki jerked suddenly and there was a crack in the darkness around them. "If you let go, I'll just grab your other hand," Tony warned him, not sure if it was Loki who had caused it. They were jerked again and Tony used him arm to pull Loki closer.

"If I don't let go then I'll hurt you," Loki told him as the blue traveled up, his eyes starting to change.

Tony could see the beginning of frostbite starting to set in but looked back up at Loki. "I don't care," he pulled Loki closer to his chest as the crack started to grow. "I'd rather go through any kind of pain then let you go. Not again, Loki. I'm Tony goddamned Stark, I get what I want." The corner of his mouth lifted up as the two stared at each other. Tony shivered a little and looked down to see that ice had started to creep up his arm, encasing their hands together. "That's more like it."

* * *

"Can we hit it? Can it break?" Clint watched the ice around the Tony and Loki's hands.

"Not without harming them both," Thor informed them.

"I'll go get a blow torch, or hair dryer, or something," Natasha said as she practically ran from the room.

Naiden had stepped through the door from the stairs quietly and saw the four gathered around something. He had deemed it safe to go up when he saw several dozen SHIELD agents go up, then coming back down 20 minutes later in the elevator.

As he got closer he was able to peek between Bruce and Steve and saw the frozen hands. "No." He raced forward and was grabbed by Steve suddenly. He tried to struggle out of his grip, needing to get to Tony and Loki. He frowned when he saw that Loki had turned blue and Tony's hand was turning darker, almost black with frostbite.

"Naiden," Bruce spoke softly but he just shook his head.

"Let me go, I need to get to them," he never took his eyes away from the two on the floor still. "I can't lose them, I won't lose them, not again!" Steve blinked and Naiden found his opening and pushed away from the group. Thor and Clint reached out quickly to grab him, Clint just gripping the edge of his shirt but they couldn't stop him.

Naiden grabbed Tony's hand then grabbed Loki's blue hand. His own hand started to glow and Loki's hand was his normal Asgardian pale. He sat on his legs between the two men, not letting go of their hands, not hearing what anyone else said around him. He could feel that they were still alive, that they were still there. Naiden wouldn't leave their side, just like they had never left his.

Naiden's glamour that hid his elven heritage broke; Thor seemed to be the only one not puzzled by what they were looking at. He didn't look much different but they noticed his ears were different, and he seemed to carry a different sort of air about him. Steve was starting to wonder just what else the trio had gone through before.

"What are we missing?" Bruce was the first to ask as he watched them.

"There's a history," Clint murmured and a few eyes looked back towards him. "Loki never let it slip though, not once." He looked up at the others watching him. "I saw them though, I saw Stark fighting with him. Yeah, there's a history there, and it must be a pretty deep one. I've only ever seen a handful of people fight the way they did, and for that long."

"He has certainly changed from when I last saw him," Thor spoke up this time. "I do not know what they have gone through, but I fear what it has done to him."

Steve cleared his throat a little and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I know," he said tentatively. "At least I know what Tony told us, Fury and myself. Tony's a great actor," he sighed out before he started to tell them.

* * *

Tony had pulled up his knees to his chest, wrapping his free arm around his legs as he tried to hide most of his shivering. "Tony," Loki breathed out and Tony turned his head. "You must let go."

"No," Tony shook his head quickly. "I don't care if I have to lose my whole arm, I'm not letting go." He looked at their hands and saw that frostbite had started to creep past his wrist. He didn't need to feel his hand to feel the comfort in knowing that it had a hold of Loki's hand. "This is what we should have done years ago, I won't let that happen again. If I have to stay here in- Holy shit."

Loki blinked then followed Tony's eyes to look at his own free arm. It was starting to pale again. "This is not my magic."

"It's elven magic," they both turned at the familiar voice, but didn't see anyone. "You're both crazy if you think I'm joining you in this fever dream."

"You're as crazy as us," Tony shot back, trying to keep his voice from chattering. "Naiden, where the hell are you?"

"Back in the penthouse, trying to save your sorry asses," he shot back. "You two have more problems than a serial killer, and I have half a mind to let you stay here until you two work it out, but we don't have the time."

"Is it Thanos?" Loki asked quickly.

"No, he's blissfully unconscious in SHIELD's company now," Naiden relayed back. "I'm talking about the ice you're spreading." Both men raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you're doing here, you're doing it in reality too."

Tony felt a tug on his arm and turned his head to look at Loki. "Don't you dare let go," Tony moved closer to the god. "I don't care what's happening, I'm going to-"

"Drive yourselves crazy," Naiden cut in. "If you two would just come on out of this then I'm sure everything would be alright."

"You haven't seen it here," Tony pulled Loki closer, wrapping his other arm around the man tightly. Loki tensed at first then leaned into Tony suddenly. This is what he had been missing, what he hadn't known that he had needed.

"I fear that I have traveled down a path vanishing," Loki murmured. "The further I travel, the more I lose myself."

"You need to quit speaking in riddles," Tony smirked slightly. He watched as the blue started to disappear from Loki's skin. "But, I suppose if you did that, you wouldn't be the same man that I knew."

Loki dropped his head against Tony's neck and closed his eyes. This was his Tony, this was the man that had fought for his life, one of the reasons that he would give his sanity willingly to protect. "I am sorry, for what I had caused, for what I've done."

"I'm sure if you tell the others that, they'll listen," Naiden's voice perked up a little. "I'll give you two a few minutes, then I want you waking the hell up. There's a lot that needs to be done."

"Yeah, yeah, get out of here kid," Tony smiled against Loki's head. "We're trying to have grown up time here." They heard the faint sound of Naiden sticking his tongue out before he was gone. "Let's say we get rid of this ice, and we go somewhere that's tangible?"

"I think I would like that," Loki nodded slightly. "I think, though, that I'll have to use you and Naiden as my anchors until such a time that I have built back up my own mental defenses," Loki admitted. "I'm afraid that I let myself go too far. I have exhausted myself."

"You don't even have to ask," Tony whispered against Loki's cheek. He could feel the water from the melting ice on his leg, but paid no mind to it. He also tried to forget that he couldn't feel his hand or wrist. "We're never going to let you go again. It'll take an army to keep up apart." Loki smiled and leaned his forehead to Tony's. "Come on, let me show you something that's a million times better than that dirty cell of ours."

"We probably shouldn't have sex right away," Loki smirked as Tony grinned.

"No, but I like the way you think." Tony laughed a little.

* * *

Groaning, Tony blinked his eyes open slowly. Everything was blurry and he was aware of pain all over his body. He saw a figure in black above him and blinked some more. "Agent?" He swore he saw Coulson, but hadn't Fury said he was dead? "What the-"

"I wouldn't talk just yet, Stark," Coulson told him before standing back up. He was pulled up by a couple pair of hands and looked around. He was still in the penthouse in his tower, the place was still a mess, but Thanos and the Chitauri were still defeated.

"Tony!" Tony's head whipped around when he heard Naiden's voice. He saw the man disappear past the stairs entryway.

"What the-" He was then lifted to his feet and he could see other SHIELD Agents securing Loki's hands in shackles and placing a mouth guard on him. "Hey! Let him go!" He tried to pull away, but his muscles just reminded him of how weak he was.

"He's still a wanted criminal, Stark," Fury spoke up from Tony's side this time. "We're gonna have to debrief all of you, and take the three of you into custody until further measures can be reached."

"Further measures?" Tony seethed out as he watched them pick up Loki, dragging out of the room. "I told you everything! He's not a threat anymore, he helped!"

"We have to make sure," Fury said as they started to take Tony the same way. None of the other Avengers were in the room and he felt a stab of anger, and possibly betrayal. Loki had helped them all, he had helped save the world. He sagged a little in the grip of the Agents, dully noticing that he still couldn't feel his hand.

_'I supposed SHIELD could count as a small army.'_


	8. Isolated Fears

Three different cells, all bare, all white, set in a circle next to each other, but none of the occupants knew the others were there. Thick glass doors were the only viewing point. It didn't matter where they were, didn't matter what the cells looked like, their captors didn't know what they had unintentionally done.

There were six different screens, all of the same three people. On the first screen was Naiden. He looked suddenly smaller, younger, than before. He sat on the floor, under the bed hanging from the wall, his legs pulled up to his chest, head resting on his knees. He didn't look around, didn't try to talk, just stared at the floor, not moving. On the next screen was the man they had really wanted to capture.

Loki had woken up shortly after arriving to his new cell. He sat up on the cot, letting one leg dangle, and stared straight ahead. He was quite and still like Naiden, but he looked up. It was a completely different man from the one they had caught before, from the one that had tried to take over the world and helped bring an invasion.

Then there was Tony Stark. He wasn't like the other two, he never quit moving. They had been forced to sedate him while they let a doctor get close to examine his arm. After Tony had refused to sit still the only thing the man could do was wrap the affected frostbitten areas and set his arm in a sling. He would need to run some tests, but Tony wasn't cooperating. He paced the floor back and forth, and for the first couple hours yelled at the cameras he knew were there. Ordered them to let them go, to let him see Loki and Naiden, to let him help Loki. Now he just paced.

Steve didn't like it, but what could he do? Fury had all but locked the others in another room, telling them to keep out until they could make sure that Tony and Naiden weren't under Loki's control. Clint had even been able to open his mouth to tell them that if the scepter had been destroyed then control was almost impossible.

"I hope you didn't have any physical tortures planned," everyone in the room jumped at Tony's voice. After three hours of silence his voice over the speakers sounded like an explosion. "Because the mental torture you're putting the three of us through is gruesome enough." Tony sat down on the cot, the first time since he'd been put there, and slumped against the wall. He looked defeated, and that just wasn't Tony Stark.

"He's right," Bruce said quietly from his chair in the corner. "If what he told Fury and Steve is true, locking them up again is probably one of the worst things to do." The other Avengers glanced back at Bruce and he rubbed the bridge of his nose, glasses in his hands. "Look at them," he gestured towards the screen. "Naiden is almost catatonic. He lost his parents in a cell, and now the only other two who cared for him are gone, too. Who knows what Loki went through after Tony and Naiden were gone, but he's already given up. And Tony, he looks like he's one breath away from giving up."

"Even if they know that it is not the same?" Steve asked.

"All three of them look at where they're at, and see the place that probably haunts their nightmares," Bruce said while looking at the set of screens. "I wouldn't be surprised if Tony felt a little betrayed right now."

"Just a little?" Clint snorted. "He probably hates us." And Clint was finding it hard to blame the genius.

* * *

There was a click in the room and Tony glanced up, eyes narrowing when he saw Fury standing there. "What do you want now? Want to run some tests on me? Well, you wouldn't be the first."

"You're the only one that will talk," the one-eyed man told him. "The other two are being awfully quiet. You know why?"

"Do I know why?" Tony let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah I know why. Do I want to tell you? No, I don't." He straightened a little. "I told you what happened to us, and this is how you repay my generosity? Fury, you really have a shitty sense of repayment."

"It wasn't exactly generosity that had you telling your story to me before." Fury told him, hands behind his back. "It was more necessity."

"No, it was not necessity. What happened to us was personal, and gruesome, and something that you really had no right knowing about." Tony took a step closer to where he knew the speaker was. "That information wasn't needed to stop Loki, because whatever had happened to him happened after Naiden and I left."

"I can't clear your or Naiden until I know more details. I need to know that the both of you aren't compromised," Fury said matter-of-factually and Tony growled lightly.

"Shit happened to us, and right now isolating us is Not your best course of action," Tony was straining to keep his voice at a decent volume. "I imagine that you know a few things about mental torture Fury, of that I have no doubt. You also have to know that too much can permanently damage the subject. You're bordering on a line right now, Nick, and you need to make a choice real fast."

"And what are my options?" Fury entertained the injured billionaire.

"Either keep us locked up, risking permanent damage, and possible retribution from Asgard, or put the three of us together." Tony kept direct eye contact with him. "Keep us under surveillance if you must, just not in these small rooms, and not separated. Treat your hostages with a little bit of kindness and it might just be repaid." Fury studied Tony with his good for several moments before walking away silently. Tony watched him until he was out of site, for once unsure of what his decision was going to be.

* * *

Tony blinked his eyes sleepily when he heard a couple of clicks in the room. The lights had been dimmed in the cell and he assumed that meant it was dark outside. He turned and pushed himself up slowly with his good arm and saw someone standing by the cell door.

"Cap?" He yawned a little, almost surprised that he had managed to fall asleep. It had been an exhausting couple of days. The door swung open after another click and he saw Steve walk in.

"I'm here to take you to your new room," he said a little hesitantly and Tony knew there was a catch. He just raised an eyebrow and Steve held up a wrist cuff. "It's a monitor, for vitals and location."

"And if I put that on where will I be moved?" Tony swung his legs around so he could sit more comfortably on the cot.

"Somewhere bigger, with Naiden and Loki." Tony raised his eyebrows high. "Constant surveillance and monitoring is part of the deal though."

"What have Naiden and Loki said?" Tony asked, wanting to know if he really had an option, or if SHIELD was even pulling one over the good Captain.

"Your the first one I've asked. If you said yes they'd let you go in and tell the other two yourself, let you put the cuff on, and move you all at once." Steve shuffled his foot a little nervously. "I know it's a delicate situation, Stark. It's why I asked to come down and talk to you myself."

"You did?" Now Tony was a little confused. He had been a little torn on whether he should land a punch on his jaw, even if the super solider wouldn't feel it, or just ignore him.

"And Banner would handle the monitoring, and Barton and Romanoff are setting up surveillance," Steve continued.

"And Thor is the muscle, just in case?" Steve just shrugged a little, but didn't deny it.

Tony took a little breath and looked at Steve then down to the cuff in his hand. He had been the one to tell Fury that he would stay under surveillance if Fury would put them together, but to be fair he didn't actually think that Fury would actually listen to him. After a minute Tony pushed himself off of the bed with his arm and took a few steps closer to Steve.

"On one condition," Steve raised an eyebrow at the inventor. "I want a glass of scotch, and not the cheap stuff." He held out his arm as Steve rolled his eyes and slipped the cuff around his wrist, fastening it. It was a snug fit but not too tight. He shook his hand out a little and Steve held the door open for him. Tony took a tentative step out, waiting for someone to yell 'Gotcha' and lock the door.

He looked around the room and watched Steve walked to the right, then noticed that the trio had been in the same place the whole time. Keep the captive together without them knowing. Steve had stopped in front of another door and punched in a code to unlock the door. He handed Tony another cuff and Tony looked in the room to see Naiden sitting on the floor underneath his cot. He glanced at Steve as he opened the door and Tony walked in.

Walking over to the cot Tony sat on the edge of it. "I imagine that this floor isn't as comfortable as the dirt," he said gently. "Cleaner yes, but harder." He felt more than saw Naiden jerk his body before moving his head quickly to peek out. "I'm older than you and you're crazy if you think I'm sitting on the floor next to you."

Naiden pulled himself up and threw his arms around Tony's neck, hiding his face in his shirt. Tony wrapped his arm around his shoulders, holding him tightly, reminded of when he was younger. "I promised you something better than a cell, I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"You always do that," Naiden said quietly. "Blame yourself for something that isn't your fault. You should stop that." He took a breath and leaned back to look at Tony in the face. "So what's the bad news?"

"Bad news?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"They wouldn't let you in here until it was really bad news. Are they taking us away?" Tony blinked as he caught onto Naidens thinking. He thought that they were letting them say their last goodbyes to each other.

"Yes," Tony nodded. "And they're making us wear gaudy jewelry," he said as he held up the cuff. "But at least they'll put us all in the same room if we agree to their fashion rules." Naiden stared at him for a second. "They're not going to separate us anymore, kid, but they're still going to watch us."

"All three of us?" Tony nodded and Naiden grabbed the cuff and slipped it on. Tony snorted a little and pushed himself off of the cot. "We still have to stay with SHIELD?" Naiden asked as he followed Tony for the door, staying close to the man.

"For now," Steve answered for him, still holding the door open for them. Naiden eyed him for a second but never strayed too far from Tony. Tony squeezed his shoulder before following Steve to the last room.

They both saw Loki sitting on the cot, staring forward, eyes unseeing though. Steve entered another code and the door opened, he handed Tony another cuff and Tony stopped to look at Steve. "When we walk out of here I don't want any other Agents here to escort us. I want it to be the Avengers only." Steve nodded once.

Naiden started to follow Tony but he put a hand on his arm. "Give me just a minute alone, okay?" He bit his lip but nodded and watched his parent walk in, letting the door slowly swing, not closing all the way. Steve muted the speaker to give them a little privacy. Tony walked over to Loki and gently sat down next to Loki, and for what seemed like a few minutes neither one moved or said anything.

Naiden watched as Tony gently moved his hand and put it over one of Loki's, just letting it sit there. "They helped raise me," Naiden said quietly, not taking his eyes off of them, catching Steve a little off guard. "While my parents were still alive. Loki taught me about my magic, making sure that the guards never knew about it. Tony taught me how to read and speak different languages I had never heard about. He taught me math and science and how to build things. All through two sets of bars, never touching, for nine years."

"Tony said he hadn't hesitated when they took you in," Steve replied, glancing at the young man.

"When I was thirteen I found it odd that they weren't teaching me how to fight. I knew what my future would be in that place." He shook his wrist with the cuff a little. "You fight to survive, that's it. Sometimes I wish that Loki had just told me what they had planned on doing. I could have helped with my own powers."

Steve took the couple steps closer to Naiden and put a hand on his shoulder. Golden eyes met Steve's. "Don't do that to yourself. They did what they thought would protect you."

"Like parents do," he nodded a little. "I know." He turned back to see that Tony laced his fingers with Loki's now. "I watched him after we escaped. Tony is one hell of an actor."

"I can't deny that," Steve agreed.

"I know it sounds absurd, but I was lucky the I lost my parents. I knew Tony and Loki, they already felt like family, there was no awkward transition like you hear about here." Naiden put a hand in his pocket. "But Tony lost Loki after so long, and there was no answer about if it was for forever or not." Tony glanced up and looked at Naiden, nodding once. He looked at Steve and gave him a small smile. "We're a family, and we'll fight tooth and nail to stay together. We've been through too much pain to let anything happen again."

Steve watched as he walked in and Loki moved for the first time since waking up. He reached up his free hand and cupped the back of Naiden's neck as the younger elf sat down next to him. Naiden said something and Tony laughed as Loki then cuffed the back his head. Naiden just grinned at the two of them.


	9. Forts of Protection

Tony scrunched up his face a little, taking a breath through his nose as the fog slowly lifted from his tired brain. He hadn't slept, not really. Tony blinked open his eyes and saw the window on the far side of the room and judged that it was about early afternoon. He looked over and saw that Loki's eyes were closed, laying down next to him. Tony prayed that he was having a dreamless sleep.

There was a soft tapping and Tony saw Steve and Phil Coulson standing at the glass door. He moved gently, running a few fingers over Loki's forehead and stepping over Naiden on the mattress on the floor. He had refused to sleep far away from the two men that night.

When they were moved Tony was slightly impressed with the size of the room. It wasn't large, but it was ten times larger than the cells they were staying in. But it was just one room, no walls or door, except for the one that kept them locked in there, and the privacy of a bathroom with a shower. There was no kitchen so Tony assumed they were going to be served their meals by others.

The two men had stepped in by the time Tony reached the door. "There's a problem with this room," Tony said, trying not to be loud and wake up Naiden and Loki. "There was no scotch when we got here."

"Stark," Coulson rolled his eyes a little. "We need to ask the three of you a question about what happened in the Tower."

"You're not talking to them about that," Tony's eyes turned hard as he looked at the two men. "I don't think you understand just how important this time is for us right now."

"Tony-" Steve started, pausing when Tony turned his gaze to him. "It's delicate, we know-"

"I don't think you understand How delicate, Cap," Tony said. "I will judge when you can broach that topic with them." Tony's eyes narrowed at them, letting them know his decision was final. He waited until the two men had left and locked the door before turning back to the beds.

Steve and Coulson looked at Bruce as they entered the surveillance room. "Neither of them have been to sleep yet," he said gently, watching the screen that monitored heart rate, blood pressure, brain activity, and more. "Tony got the closest."

"What's stopping them?" Steve asked.

"Fear."

* * *

Tony slid in gently next to Loki again and the taller man turned to face Tony. "You look like hell," Tony said quietly to him. Loki snorted once, his foot touching Tony's calf. Tony had noticed that there was some part of Loki always touching him while they tried to sleep.

"This could turn out to be okay," Tony continued. "Not having to make our own meals, not having to worry about any meetings to go to. I mean, Pepper was talking about more press about the Tower, and now-"

"You'll just have to do all of that anyway," Naiden said from the ground.

"Not true, padawan," Tony argued. "I already get enough press, but after helping to save the world I'll get even more. Job done." He looked at Loki as he opened his eyes, clear green eyes meeting his. Tony reached over and pushed some of his hair off of his face. Loki looked at the sling that his arm was and Tony moved, blocking his view of it. "It's our first family vacation, the three of us together and just relaxing."

"Next time can we leave SHIELD at home," Naiden murmured as he rolled over, pulling the pillow over his head.

* * *

"Can we gas the room?" Clint asked sitting next to Bruce as they watched the room three days later. Tony still had not let anyone talk to them about the attack, and Fury was getting antsy, and angry. "Seriously, they need to sleep."

Bruce grunted as he grabbed some blueberries and popped one in his mouth. "I'm going to ignore that suggestion."

Loki had taken to sitting on the sill of the window, just looking out, captivated by the actual view that they had. Yes, it was of an empty field with some trees in the distance, but it was more than he had seen in some years. Tony and Naiden had taken apart the couch and were making their own respective forts. When Clint first saw this he requested that more furniture be delivered to the room. He wanted to see what they could make.

"I have a functioning second floor!" Naiden said, his voice muffled from inside the fort.

"I'll have a basement!" Tony challenged. Naiden peeked out from a corner, pushing a cushion out of the way slightly. He watched as Tony worked as well as he could with only one functioning arm. He never let any of the medics look at his arm, not even Bruce Banner. He wouldn't even let Loki or Naiden check on him.

After Tony failed to get the back of the couch into position, he stood up and stretched. "I'm gonna take a break, let the creative juices flowing again." He plastered on a smile and turned to head over towards Loki.

He sat on the other side of the window and looked outside, bringing his leg up to rest in front of him, knee propped up. "I bet this doesn't even compare to what you've seen on other worlds," Tony said to the god. Loki just shook his head a little. Loki hadn't said much since they'd been reunited, but Tony could feel that Loki was getting better. He only kept touching Tony at night when they laid in the bed instead of all the time.

Tony looked back out the window and took a slow breath. After several moment he turned his head back when he felt a tug at his shoulder. He saw that Loki had grabbed his injured arm, but he hadn't felt it until Loki tugged on it. He locked eyes with the man and quickly leaned forward, taking his other hand. "Don't, don't do this to yourself."

"You're hurt," Loki said quietly, looking at his arm, lifting some of the bandages to see the dark color of his skin. "I hurt you."

"Loki-"

"You're going to lose the arm, and I did it to you." Tony quickly moved and pulled Loki forward, his forehead resting against Loki's. Naiden glanced over from his fort.

"I'd lose a hundred arms before I lost you again," Tony said quietly to him. His good hand lifted and cupped Loki's cheek, taking a couple of breaths. "I'd lose my legs before I was kept from you, or Naiden, again. I can't go through that again. I need you here." Tony closed his eyes when his voice cracked on his last words. "I can't keep doing this without you, Loki. Please, please don't leave me again." Tony pressed his face into Loki's neck, warm tears being pressed into his skin.

Loki had wrapped both of his arms around Tony, letting the man cry into his neck. Tony's hand reached up to tangle with Loki's hair. Naiden had crawled out of his stuffed building and flopped on his stomach on his mattress, watching them. He knew that things were different, one would have to be brain dead to not see it, but he also knew that they'd all been holding it in and Tony was finally letting go of 6 years of built up emotions.

Bruce leaned forward and tapped the side of a screen, letting it go blank. Even if he wasn't Loki's biggest fan he believed that Tony needed this private moment, away from prying SHIELD eyes. "I don't think that there is much of a reason to keep them here any longer," Banner said, side glancing to Natasha.

"I would tend to agree, but we still need to know where the tesseract is." She had crossed her arms in front of her. "I can make the recommendation to have them released as soon as we question them."

"You can't just go in there and question them like they're just some other target," Bruce turned in his chair to answer her. "Tony was part of this chaos of a team, and it's obvious that they're still battling their own mental demons that we have no idea about." He held up his hands to stop Natasha when she opened her mouth to protest. "Asking them about the tesseract has to be done with a gentle hand, a calm head."

"That's why we'd like to send you in, Doctor," Fury said as he walked in the door. "You're a friendly face to the Starks."

"I'm a friendly face to Tony," Bruce corrected them. "Naiden tended to stick close to where Loki was on the Hellicarier." He let out a little sigh when Natasha and Fury just looked at him. "I can't promise anything, all I can do it try."

* * *

Tony took a slow breath as he let Loki's hand continue running trails through his hair. Naiden was trying to connect the two pillow forts. "I'm thinking that a cool metal arm will be the way to go. I mean, it's not like there's too much to replace, but I can add a bunch of cool things to it."

"I still don't understand why you wouldn't let anyone look at it," Naiden said, voice muffled from inside of the fort. Tony raised an eyebrow when he saw a stick start to rise up from the top of the fort.

"It wouldn't have mattered," Loki said calmly. "It was an ice of strange origin that caused the damage. The healers in Asgard are able to heal the damage if it is treated within the house of it happening." Tony turned his head a little to nip at Loki's arm a little. He paid attention back to the fort when something started to climb up the stick.

"Did you steal my underwear to make a flag?" Tony was watching a pair of his boxers rise up, a magical, no doubt elven made, wind making it flutter. "I'm going to clip your ears."

"Impressive." Tony and Loki looked over as Bruce Banner started to circle the fort. "For what little you have available, this actually seems like a sound design."

Naiden's head popped out one of the windows. "I like to experiment. I only built half of it though, but I did improve upon it."

Tony snorted a little and Loki let him sit up a little straight, Loki's arm wrapping around his waist a little. "Hello Brucey," Tony greeted. "They send you in here to talk to us?" Bruce just nodded and Tony pat the chair that was across from him with his outstretched foot. "Take a seat and take a break. It has to be boring being in that room all the time watching us."

"It was until we had all the furniture brought in," Bruce admitted as he sat down. "I'm still interested in how you would managed to make a basement in response to Naiden's second floor."

"I was hoping that there was a secret floor panel that was built into the room, honestly," Tony shrugged, a small smile on his lips. "I'll tell you though, cause you're a good man Bruce, I have no idea where the Tesseract is."

"May I ask a question?" Loki interrupted before Tony could continue or Bruce could respond. "Where is Thor?"

Bruce opened his mouth the answer, then stopped to think about it. "I'm not actually sure, I haven't seen him in a couple of days." Loki nodded a little. "Do you know?" Loki nodded again.

"If you haven't seen him than he is likely completing the task I set him to." Tony turned his head back to gaze at Loki, frowning slightly in confusion. "I would hope that he is back on Asgard returning the Tesseract to it's proper location in the Vault of Asgard."


	10. Precious Moments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There really are no excuses for the long wait, except, life sucks and it's exhausting. I help take care of my disabled parent, and I've started University again, and I've volunteered in different organizations to bring a good and happy change to life. And that has also brought me back to my fanfics. I adore everyone who loves these fics, and has stuck by in the long haul. Expect new and fresh stuff first, but I'm going to focus on finishing what I have first. You all deserve the best, not something rushed and that makes no sense.
> 
> I don't own Marvel, or the Avengers, or Loki, or any of that stuff. I own Naiden though, and anything that doesn't actually exist in the Marvel Universe.

"You had the tesseract?" Bruce asked, blinking. "When did you have time to take it?"

"When didn't I have time to take it?" Loki responded calmly. "Did any of you actually see the tesseract before or after the failed invasion?" After a few moments of thinking Bruce shook his head no. "It stayed very centralized inside of Tony's Tower, until I, swiped it, from under Thanos' grasp."

"Maybe the better question would be when did you have time to give it Thor?" Bruce amended his question. Tony was a little curious himself. "When the battle inside the Tower was over, you and Tony weren't even conscious."

"You can ask your Captain and Widow that I was in contact with Thor right after escaping Thanos' grasp, I had Naiden with me." Tony glanced over to see that Naiden had his arms folded out on the fort, chin resting on his arms. "As I entrusted his safety to Thor, I also made the exchange of putting the cosmic cube into his possession as well. I knew that if the unlikely event of me falling in battle were to happen, then I wouldn't want such a powerful item on when so many would be coming after me."

"And Thor would then know to get the cube out of there," Bruce nodded a bit. "Any idea on when he'll be back?"

"I'm not sure," Loki shook his head. "I did a good deal of damage in Asgard before I, left, making travel a little different, and probably a bit difficult."

"How did he get here before? When he stole you off the quinjet?" Tony tilted his head a little to look at Loki. "Which, I was not pleased with, by the way." Loki let a little smirk cross his face.

"I presume that Odin helped him get down here, with such a delicate situation happening." Loki waited as Tony adjusted his position again, not taking his arm away from holding onto the smaller man.

"Why not just send the guards from Asgard? Or the strike team, I know Asgard has a secret strike team." Loki hummed a little at Tony's words.

"Because Thor still considers me as family, and family takes care of their own first," Loki started to explain. "It is actually a great insult to send someone who isn't related, or in the immediate family, to deal with a situation. I should be honored, I suppose."

"Hey, we came to deal with you," Naiden spoke up, smiling. Loki let his smirk grow to a smile at the elf. "So yeah, you Should be honored."

"You have been teaching him too much," Loki said to Tony. "I should not have let you influence him so much."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," Tony preened. "And I didn't do all the teaching, our boy here was accepted into seven colleges, on his first try, and they wanted to pay him to come." Naiden rolled his eyes a little with a soft smile; he knew that Tony would always be proud of that. "He's got two more years until he gets his bachelor's, and then we'll see if he maybe wants to continue on to a Master's-"

"Jumping the bit a little, aren't we?" Naiden interrupted. I've still got to find a career before I go straight into a Master's degree. The Bachelor's is hard enough."

"There are different levels to the education system here?" Loki asked, listening to them talk. While he was also proud of the young elf for being accepted into so many Midgardian schools, he didn't know the meaning behind the different levels attributed to said education.

"It's more complicated than you would think," Naiden told him before Bruce cleared his throat a little.

"Right, well, there's your answer," Tony said to Bruce, the one Avenger he considered a friend above all else. "Thor has the Tesseract and is giving it back. Does that mean we can go now?"

"I'm not sure," Bruce shrugged. "You know we're not getting all the information." Tony snorted a little.

"I'm still serious about that offer, Brucey," Bruce raised an eyebrow at Tony. "Once the Tower gets all fixed up, play around int he labs. R&D is going to be better than ever, Candyland, just like....," Tony frowned when he felt a twinge in his neck, and felt Loki's body give the same response. They both turned to look towards the window, Naiden and Bruce following their glance, and Tony felt something cold and heavy drop in his stomach.

"Get down." Loki hissed as he pulled Tony down to the ground, covering him with his body. Naiden moved on instinct, not waiting to see exactly what they saw, but Bruce got down just before something bright came in impact with the wall.

Alarms were blaring, the air was filled with dust, and Tony felt a lot of weight on top of him. He opened his eyes a little and saw pieces of the wall shifting off of Bruce as he moved. The weight was moving from him and he saw Loki push a bigger piece off and away, moving for where the couch fort had been. Tony coughed when he opened his mouth to talk and pushed himself a little, looking behind him.

He saw what had to be close a hundred Yar guards marching across the grass. They didn't worry as much as what he saw between them. Prisoners, they had brought other prisoners with them, all itching for a fight. "Shit, shit shit shit." If Tony had been an animal, then his hackles would have been raised, his fur would standing on end, but instead only armor started to appear around his neck. "Bruce??"

"I'm okay!" He called out, coughing on the dust. "What happ-"

"I need my suit!" Tony said as he tried to get to his feet as quickly as possible.

"It's not functioning as a whole," Bruce reminded him as they both stood up. Bruce looked out the giant hole in the wall and blanched a little. "What is that."

"Prison life," Tony mumbled. "I need my gauntlets at the least, my boots. Shit," he swore under his breath when he remembered that one of the gauntlets was busted. One would have to do. "I need them Now Bruce!" Bruce nodded, running for the door as it opened, Steve running through with shield in hand.

Tony took a breath as he felt the rest of his armour starting to settle in place, and feeling he would never get used too. He suddenly cried out at an unexpected pain and pulled his bad arm to his chest. He felt Loki next to him then as he took a few deep breaths. Glancing down he saw that his shirt, the bandages, and the sling were starting to turn a dark red. It seemed that his damaged arm did not take well to the natural armour change with his skin.

"Tony-" Steve was on the other side of him then, Loki tearing the sling away from his arm.

"Get ready to fight Cap," Tony said, trying to talk through the pain. "Get as many people out of here as possible, and if we can't contain this, then we need to blow this place."

Steve frowned looking at him, opening his mouth to say something before Loki interrupted him this time. "They come for us, but they must not be allowed to leave this place, should we fall." He looked at Steve. "They will turn your planet into one of torture and death if they are allowed to roam free."

Tony turned his head a little, hissing when Loki pulled off some of the bandages. "Where's Naiden?"

"I sent him off with Dr Banner," Loki told him, inspecting his arm. Tony looked down at it and saw that the armour didn't fall into place like it did on the rest of his body. It looked crooked, forced, and wrong. He kind of wished that he could go back to feeling nothing in that arm.

"We'll have to deal with this later. Do you have your magic?" Loki shook his head and held up the wrist that had the cuff on it. Of course SHIELD would put a restrictor on it. Glancing back over at the approaching enemies he saw all kinds of weapons, and he recognized some of the prisoners. They looked all too pleased to get this chance. "There were probably promised freedom for whoever kills us," Tony muttered.

"More than likely," Loki affirmed, still inspecting Tony's arm. "And they are probably the ones with the most wins in the arena." Loki looked around the room, then pried a piece of metal support fromt he broken wall, testing its weight in his hand. "It will have to do until I can get this cuff off of my wrist."

"If Bruce can get me my gauntlet, I'll get it off," Tony told him. He, Loki, and Steve were facing the little army as it stopped right before the hole in the wall, the prisoners barely contained in the middle, itching to earn their freedom. "Be ruthless, Cap," Tony said to him. "This is worse than any war you know, there will be no prisoners-"

"Except for one of the guards, we will need one to send back with our message," Loki growled out.

"Kill or be killed."

The Yar in front moved to the side, and the prisoners charged inside the room.


	11. Luck Runs Out

Natasha couldn't help but stop and watch as Tony and Loki had started to fight. She had seen some training like that, had seen only a couple of others fight with the intensity that they were doing now. It could be classified as mindless, because there was nothing else but to fight, to survive, nothing else mattered in that time. She now knew what Clint had been talking about when he said he saw them fighting back in the city. When she saw Captain America fly past the doorway she snapped out of her daze, aimed her gun, and shot the creature that had thrown him in the head.

Captain America took a breath when he saw his attacker fall to the ground, and saw Widow standing in the doorway, more backup finally arriving. He didn't have much time to catch his breath though, rolling back to avoid a long pole slam down where his head used to be. Very few of the alien guards had jumped into the fights when the dozens of prisoners had charged the room, and he wondered how Tony was able to keep going. These prisoners were ruthless, like animals, worse than anything he had faced back in the war, and he wasn't sure that was actually possible. Looking over he saw that Loki and Tony were both still going, even if they were hampered by a lack of real weapons. Steve rolled and brought his shield up, the edge catching the jaw of the alien that had tried to impale him.

Bruce ran back the room, seeing the fight inside, and paused for a second at the doorway. Naiden was behind him and glanced out behind the shorter scientist. Bruce took a deep breath, knowing he had to get Tony's suit parts to him before he even thought about helping.

"I propose that you start by taking out some of the guards, first," Naiden said to him. "They're outside of the building, and then it might draw some of the prisoners out." Bruce raised an eyebrow, looking at him. "I can create a somewhat protective around you," Naiden looked at Bruce. "It should help you get to Tony as well. I wasn't trained to fight, I just know mainly protective and useful spells, nothing for damage."

"Hold on to that," Bruce told him. "And probably stay out of sight. SHIELD agents should be here any time."

"If they don't leave this just to you guys," Naiden commented. "It was the Avengers that saved Manhattan, why not save a SHIELD base?"

Bruce grumbled a little and slipped inside the room, an arrow flying past him to take out one of the prisoners that was headed for him. Looking back, Bruce nodded to Clint who was in the hallway back by the door, trying to use the distance to his advantage.

Tony had been trying to move back as they fought, trying to get to the door to get to his gauntlet and boots as soon as possible. He had managed to procure a spear from one of the prisoners and was using that to try and clear a path, to lessen the occupancy in the room. It was harder with only one usable arm, and he was taking some beatings and starting to feel it through his armour. He tossed the spear to Loki when they crossed paths, Loki immediately using it to stab a man, remove it and swing it along the floor to bring two other prisoners to the ground. Tony nodded to him, taking the free second to actually take a breath.

The guards were staying back, and Tony was thankful for that, at the moment. Natasha and Clint had joined to help with Cap, and that meant that not all the prisoners were focused on just him and Loki. It was usually difficult enough when it was two on two, and he usually had full use of his weapons, and limbs, but it was exhausting to try and fight off over nearly two dozen teams.

"Tony!" His name caught his attention and he lifted his arm to catch the bag that Bruce threw towards him.

"Hello babies," Tony grinned as he pulled out a boot from the bag. He leaned back when something when flying for his head, recoiling back to its master, and nearly dropped his stuff. There was a clang and Cap was in front of him, shoving back the attacker. "Thanks Cap." Tony grabbed the boot, pressing a button and placing his foot inside, watching the gears moves to form around his foot and doing the same with the other.

"Do you think now is the time to take a breather?" Tony could see the little smirk on Steve's face as he said it, throwing his shield, hearing a couple resounding thuds as it bounced, and flew back to Steve's arm. "I mean, you can't just stick us with your party guests when you get bored of them."

"Careful, Rogers. I'm a taken man, and you might make my boyfriend jealous." Tony pushed his hand into the gauntlet, flexed his fingers, and felt it power up against his palm. He was glad he didn't have to attach these parts to his arc reactor for them to work, but he also wasn't sure how much power or functionality they had left, not after the battle in New York. "He's the tall, dark, and scary one murdering men over there."

"Kind of hard to miss," Steve nodded. They heard the familiar roar of the Hulk as he ran out, knocking down several prisoners on his way outside, where he was free to 'smash'. "Let's try and end this faster."

"Getting tired already?" Tony stood up and fired a shot at a man trying to sneak up behind Loki. "This is only intermission."

"I have a lot more respect for you, and Loki as well, I can say that." Tony caught his eye and they both moved, getting back into the fight. Tony fired his boosters, getting some height, and kicking a couple of prisoners in the head, stunning them for a few seconds. Running past them and slid under the swing of the spear in Loki's hand as he knocked another man, then faced Tony, catching the spear before it swung back the other way.

Tony waved his covered hand. "Let me see that piece of trash around your wrist, baby." Loki switched the spear into his other hand and put it out, close to Tony. Turning to the side a little, and managing to cradle Loki's arm between his chest and his bad arm, biting the inside of his cheek at the pain of the pressure he was putting on his arm. A small laser tool opened up from the pointer finger of the gauntlet, and Tony set about cutting through the cuff on Loki's wrist, without trying to burn Loki as he still fought. Easier said than done when he heard Loki growl a couple times when the laser nicked part of his arm.

"Sorry, sorry, but if you didn't insist on playing with the other kids until you were all set," Tony grumbled a little. "Seems SHIELD has upped their tech game a little- a ha!" He pulled the cuff off and Loki whipped his arm around, his old familiar staff appearing in his hand, downing two guys at once and facing Tony, old armour appearing in a green shimmer. "Mm, now that's what I like to see."

"Don't get too full of yourself, we haven't taken down half of them yet," Loki reminded him. The Hulk let out a roar in the background. "Although it does feel good to have more allies on our side this time."

Tony grinned at him, stealing a quick kiss before bolting off in the other direction, intent on keeping anyone from getting further into the SHIELD base. What they didn't need was someone sneaking away.

After Clint had slunk away into the room, set on reclaiming a number of his arrows, Naiden slowly poked his head around the edge of the door to look inside the room. He wasn't stupid enough to rush in, not with no kind of combat training under his belt, but he could try to protect who he could. He knew Tony and Loki didn't need it, not now anyway, so he kept his limited elven spells focused on the Black Widow and Hawkeye, and it seemed to be working for now. The floor of the room that he had been living in was filling up with bodies and all kinds of blood.

He had seen all kinds of aliens, all kinds of life forms living in the cells of his youth, but he was seeing even more now. There were big ones and small ones, quick ones, and ones that could knock down a small building with one swing of their fist. The Yar were outside, occupied with the Hulk, and some of the bigger prisoners wanted to give it a shot, taking down one either as big as they were, or almost as big. No doubt they would want to boast that they had slain the two great champions, and a beast of Earthly might. And no doubt their lives would been a little bit longer if they hadn't of gotten so greedy.

Naiden pulled back, leaning against the wall and saw someone coming down the hall. Turning his head he saw Coulson coming over, a few things over his shoulders, stocked with some weapons and restock for Clint and Natasha.

"Sounds like more fun than Tony's last birthday party,' the Agent commented on all the noise coming from the room.

"I wasn't around for that one, but I've heard stories about it," Naiden commented, watching Coulson look around the corner. He hefted up the large gun they had made from the tech of the Destroyer and turned into the doorway, aimed in the room. He let out one whistle, one high pitched and loud whistle, (that made Naiden almost lose his spells it bothered his ears so much), and fired the gun. Glancing back into the room he saw a few bodies drop to the ground and Coulson threw a bundle of arrows to the archer, and Natasha slid over to grab the extra ammo for her weapon.

Captain Americas shield bounced off of a couple of walls, slamming into stray fey, and jogged over, out of breath. "I think we're doing alright," he said through a couple breaths, hand on his side. "We've dwindled the numbers down significantly."

"We still have the guards after this," Natasha said, glancing outside at where the Hulk was still fighting.

"Let's clear this room first," Steve said, readjusting his shield. "Just a-" They all stopped and turned when they heard a particularly loud shout of pain, a scream of agony. A few seconds later there was a pulse of power, knocking everyone off their feet. Naiden looked in the room, towards where the scream came from and nearly lost his breath.

Tony used his boosters to back away from the swinging swords of the prisoner and shot another blast from his gauntlet and felt the power fading. One more shot and the gauntlet was officially out of juice, all that was left were his boots. He caught the broadside of a pole and was slammed into the wall, his bad arm taking the brunt and he gasped at the sudden rush of pain. One more push with his boosters and he was away from the walls, slamming into the one who hit him in the first place.

"This is getting ridiculous," Tony said under his breath. He stole a glance over to Loki, feeling him nearby. Later, Tony would think that staying in one place was his first mistake, and not looking for the partner of the prisoner from was his second mistake. He gasped when something caught him in the stomach, throwing him back up against the wall. In the split second he was able to lift his head he saw the sharp end of a large axe swinging down towards him. Tony kicked a foot up, heard the whine from the booster in his boot, and felt his body start to move away-

Until the boosters died. The axe found purchase between the twisted armour plates of his bad arm, the force of the creature driving it straight through just under his elbow, slicing straight through the bone. Tony had about 2 seconds of shock before blinding pain filled his entire body, like lightning striking his core, a scream escaping from his mouth.

Loki turned, heart hammering in his chest when he heard the scream. He saw the axe in the wall, Tony screaming, slowly starting to the slide to the floor, and the creature reaching down for the man. A burning rage filled Loki as he saw this. How dare this impudent creature think to lay a hand on his mortal. He felt his magic bubble up, rushing to his fingers, spells working in his hands, his finger crackling with power until he released a wave throughout the room. He saw the creature let go of his axe, falling to the ground, Tony sliding down to his knee, back against the wall, breathing heavily, eyes wide with shock.

The god walked over to the creature, grabbed the tentacles on it's head and, put a boot on its back, and simply ripped its head off, kicking to the body away from Tony. He leaned down in front of Tony, putting his hands gently on the smaller mans cheek. "Anthony," he spoke clearly to him, looking him in the eyes, trying to get him to focus. "Anthony, can you hear me? I need you to try and focus on me." Tony's hand came up, grabbing at Loki's arm. "I know, my love."

Tony let out a little snort through his nose. "You love me," he managed out, pain lacing his voice. "You've only said it," he let out a whine when Loki tried to move his bad arm, "once before." Tony leaned his face into the one hand still on his cheek.

"Tony??" Tony opened his eyes and saw Naiden sliding down next to them on the floor. "Tony, are you okay??"

"Peachy, with a little side of keeeeeen," Tony dragged out as Loki lifted his arm up. "Holy shit," the engineer said, looking over to the side. "He cut off my arm, my arm is actually gone."

"Only part of it," Naiden said, talking, trying to distract him. The rest of the team were finishing off those left in the room, keeping them away from Tony and Loki. "You can totally rebuild that though, you were just talking about building a new one remember?"

Loki moved his fingers around the end of Tony's arm, magic weaving together, creating a green net that gently formed to bleeding stump. Tony hissed in pain, trying to keep the higher tones out of his voice, as the net tightened and turned solid, like green fabric.

"Guess, I don't have to," Tony took a deep breath, Loki's hand going back to his cheek, "have surgery now. Bright side."

Loki placed a kiss on Tony's forehead. "It should only take a few more moments, the pain should start to dissipate."

"Knew our winning streak would have to end sometime," Tony smiled lazily, feeling the effects of Loki's spell, like a high dose of morphine.

"We haven't lost yet," Loki informed him.

"Lost part of my arm." He grinned at Loki's flat expression.

Loki took his hand back after a moment and started to get up. "Naiden, stay with him, make sure that he doesn't try to do something idiotic."

"You're setting me up for failure," Naiden shot back.

"Make sure he doesn't try to follow me," the god amended. "I'm going to end this." He turned to see that the rest of the Avengers were outside now, the Yar guards the only ones left, and their numbers had been reduced by the Hulk alone. "This stops."


	12. Curb the Tide

"Where's he going?" Tony frowned a little, watching Loki start to walk away.

"Hey," Naiden put a hand on his shoulder, stopping Tony from leaning forward to get up. "I don't think it would be a good idea to get up right now."

"I don't think it's a good idea to let him go away," Tony said, still trying to get up. "Don't let the murderous rage god go that way. Bad things will happen."

"I think that might actually be the point," Naiden said, mostly to himself. He couldn't find a reason to actually stop Loki from going to do whatever he was going to do.

"Noooo," Tony shook his head, trying not to slur his words. Whatever spell Loki had used it was starting to work a little too well. "Need to rope him back in, back away from crazy land."

"They cut off your arm, Tony," Naiden said matter of factly.

"I'm aware, it's my arm that's not there anymore." Tony happened to glance down, then scrunched his face a little. "That's actually my arm, right over there. Is it morbid if I can't decide if it's a bad thing or not to want to take it?" Naiden scrunched up his face a little in disgust. "I should take it, make a mold of it so I know what that arm is supposed to look like."

"That's gross, Tony."

"It's science." He looked back over at Naiden and saw Loki walking in front of the group, toward the Yar. "Oh shit." He tried to get up again, this time gaining a little ground by getting one foot underneath himself. "Gotta stop my man, my god, my whatever over there."

"Tony, come on, think about this," Naiden tried to stop him, again.

"You're right," Tony nodded, then held out his good hand. "Take this gauntlet off, it's useless now. I need my fingers." Naiden raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't look at me like that, just take it off, I lack the proper appendages to get it off."

"That's a cross between a low blow, and a little gross," Naiden grumped as he pulled apart the gauntlet, having watched Tony as he was making this current incarnation of the Iron Man suit.

Tony reached down, pressing the button on each of the boots, before sliding them off one at a time. He tossed them to the side, not too far away from his arm actually, and leaned his back against the wall. Naiden watched him, but seemed to lean away from him, thinking that he was going to stay put now. That was Naiden's first mistake.

Loki had only eyes for the Yar, for the guards of that terrible place where he had spent many a year, the guards that had hassled them, that had led them to and from the arena, that had eagerly taken away their food in return for basic necessities. For the reason that his love was now missing the lower part of his arm.

There were less than 30 left now, but Loki only needed one, and he only needed him mostly alive. Magic swirled almost violently within his body, reacting to his emotions, to the feeling that he needed to make more of them pay for their transgressions.

He walked past the other mortals, ignoring any words that they might have said. Though their help was appreciated, they did not understand what needed to be done, what he needed to do to secure the future of his Anthony and Naiden. They were his family, and they were a family that he could protect. This time he would protect them.

His staff appeared in his hand again, magic dancing around the handle of it, crackling like lightning as he walked closer. A crackle of thunder cut across the sky, but he ignored it, lifting his staff, pulling his arm back a little, power surging to the end, ready for an attack, the muscles ready to snap-

"Loki!" Thor's voice caused a momentary pause in Loki's actions, he and the Yar staring at each other. It was only a momentary pause though, and Loki's arm swung around in an arc, a blade of green magic lashing out, multiplying, cutting through the Yar that did not have a shield. Their numbers were halved in an instant.

"Loki!" This time it was Tony's voice that caught his attention. "Loki, please, wait." He had to make it so that Tony wouldn't get hurt again. There was already so much hurt.

Tony stumbled a little and Naiden grabbed onto his good arm to steady him. He licked his lips, shook his head, trying to shake off the effects of Loki's spell, needing a clear head. "You don't have to do this, not alone, not anymore."

"Brother," Loki growled a little when Thor spoke.

"Loki," Tony's voice was a little softer now. "Come back to me, Loki. We just found each other again, I don't want to lose you again." Tony saw some of the magic waver around his hand, attuned to Loki's rage now. "Let Thor and Cap handle this. There's a team of five other behind you, let them clean the mess, our part is done."

One of the Yar guards in front grunted something to Loki, Loki, Tony, and Naiden bristling a little. "You would do well not to speak of our Mother like that," Thor growled, stepping next to Loki, hand gripping Mjolnir with white knuckles. Another gutteral line uttered and Thor threw the hammer, slamming into it's chest, throwing into the others, and they all moved. Captain America's shield entered the fray as well, but Loki took a step back.

He turned to look at Tony and Naiden, standing behind the fighting, looking at him. He saw Tony's arm, saw Tony leaning on Naiden, then heard the fighting behind him. They were just Yar now, and Tony and Naiden were alive in front of him.

Tony lifted his hand to Loki. The staff disappeared from Loki's hand and he walked over to them. Loki took Tony's hand, pulling the mortal closer, wrapping his arms around, pulling him closer. Tony let out a breath against Loki's chest, relaxing into him, holding onto Loki's arm. "It's done, it's all done," Tony whispered against his chest. "It's just us now. Remember all those late night talks."

"The silliness that you would talk about," Loki said quietly.

"It wasn't all folly after all," Tony said, a little smile on his face. "I'm going to take you back to my house, one of them, where it's peaceful. Naiden will go back to school, and you won't know what to do until he comes to visit on breaks. You'll explore all the oddities of Midgard, and you'll probably get frustrated with what you think is our stupidity-"

Loki kissed the top of Tony's head, listening to him talk. They both had a long way to go, a long way to heal, but now, for once, it actually felt like all the bad things were ending. Loki actually believed that they could stay put, that perhaps they would get some peace.


	13. Trusting Again

It was another room, another plain room, but this time they didn't feel like prisoners. The rest of the Avengers stood their silent, but noticeable, vigil with the odd family. Tony had noticed though, that Thor kept stealing glances at Loki, something troubling him. After they moved rooms, away from the battle, letting SHIELD do the clean up now, Naiden stayed close to Loki, and Loki wouldn't let Tony go more than an arms length away, eyes tracking his wrapped arm the whole time. There were no surviving Yar to send back, and Steve had looked at Tony, and promised that after this he'd personally make sure that Tony would be able to take Loki and Naiden to wherever he wanted. There was that troubled look from Thor again.

"Maybe I was wrong about you, Spangles," Tony said to Steve, small smile when Steve wrinkled his nose at the nickname. "Didn't expect a full turn around from you."

"I wouldn't say that's what happened," the Super Soldier said. "It's not that I completely trust Loki yet, but I'm fairly certain that he's not going to try and take over the world anymore."

"Close eye and all that?" Tony raised an eyebrow a little.

"I trust you," Steve said to Tony, and that caught Tony off guard. "I don't know what exactly you all went through, but if what just happened was any small indication of what happened, I think it would be a bad move to separate and contain you. I trust you to take care of things, and to let us now what you need, Tony."

Tony blinked, looking at him, nodding a little. He had officially gone from Stark to Tony, and he had Captain America's trust. Tony was sure that they would still want to keep an eye on them, specially Loki, but with the Captain's words, and the fact that even Barton and Natasha were standing to guard them, that they would be able to handle this.

Whenever Tony would feel a twinge of pain in his arm, Loki would place his hand gently over the wrappings and release a spell, chasing away the pain. Tony was leaning against Loki's side when the door opened an hour later, Coulson stepping through, arm still up in a sling. Naiden sat up, but Tony was content to stay where was, he was comfortable for the moment.

"Agent Coulson," Steve nodded to him, taking a little step forward, assuming the leader role on pure instinct. Tony swore that he saw Coulson swoon a little on the inside. The crush was real.

"We've confirmed with Thor that the Tesseract is indeed on Asgard now," Coulson said, nodding a little to the blonde Asgardian.

"So there's no longer a need to keep them here," Steve said, keeping his word to get the trio out of SHIELD's hands.

"Well, it's not that simple," the Agent said. "We can't just let-"

"SHIELD doesn't want us going somewhere where they can't watch us," Tony mumbled from his seat on the couch. "They're not entirely convinced yet, with everything that's happened the past week." Coulson just nodded once to Tony's words. "I plan on taking these two," he motioned to Naiden and Loki, "back to my Malibu house. It's quiet-er out there, and pretty secluded."

"But it's still your property," Coulson pointed out.

"Which means that you can't hack in to watch our every movement," Tony fleshed out the rest of the problem. "Forgive me for not getting upset that you want to invade more of my privacy."

"Then we'll need to post someone at the house-"

"Steve," Tony said immediately, and even Loki raised an eyebrow at his quick answer. "I trust Steve, out of everyone in your organization." Steve blinked, looking at Tony, a little surprised. "I also trust him to report anything unusual to you, but give us the privacy we still need. Things won't spiral out of control with him there."

Coulson looked back and forth between Steve and Tony once, twice, then nodded. "Alright, I think we can agree to that, if that's agreeable with you, Captain?"

"Can't say I've ever been to Malibu," Steve said after a second. "Got close before I went overseas."

"Everything's changed, Cap," Tony said, leaning back into Loki, the long arm wrapping around Tony's shoulders. Loki was in protective mood, just wanting to keep Tony and Naiden close to him, not caring what others would think of his actions. Tony wasn't sure why he suddenly trusted Steve Rogers to come stay at the house, but he just had a feeling. Maybe it was because before being unfrozen Steve had indeed been Captain Steven Rogers of the US Army, and he had seen battle, he been a part of World War II. Out of everyone, Steve would be the one to give the space they needed to heal, to process everything.

Tony glanced at Thor again, and saw that he looked like he wanted to say something, but then decided against it. Tony was really going to have to corner him, get him to just say whatever it was that was on his mind.

"I'll get the jet here-" Tony started, but Coulson shook his head.

"No air travel right now, except for military personal."

"Then that means you can get one of your fancy quinjets here," Tony said, looking at the Agent. "You're crazy if you think that I'm going to take the long journey in a car. It's not comfortable to sleep in, no bathroom, and I'm not a good passenger when i get cranky. Really, it would just be better to get something that flies, get us there as soon as possible, in everyone's best interest really."

He supposed that they had agreed purely on the fact that it would stop Tony from talking, but within the next thirty minutes the four of them were being moved to a Quinjet, Thor trailing behind them. Tony motioned with his hand to follow them, knowing that it would just be easier, and maybe he could talk to him while they flew. Tony would like to guess that if Loki could see him, that he would be okay.

Patting Loki's cheek, and making sure that Naiden was tucked in close on Loki's other side, he got up and wandered over to Thor after they had taken off and were in the air. "You keep looking over with this really troubled look, and I'm not sure if I should be concerned about you or not. So what's up, big guy?" Tony said, keeping his voice down, but not whispering. "We took down the big bads, the tesseract is safe and sound, and we saved most of the city."

"Yes, it seems that the damage was mostly controlled here on Midgard," Thor nodded, arms crossed across his chest.

"From what we heard, we were a little surprised that you came back so soon," Tony kept going. "Loki said that it takes a little more effort than usual to get down here." Thor nodded, and there was that troubled look again. "Does this have something to do with Loki? I mean, I know his Mom must miss him, but-"

"The order to bring him back to stand trial has been given," Thor said, stopping Tony's mouth in its tracks. "I am to bring back my brother in chains, to stand before the Allfather for his crimes against Asgard."

Tony blinked, letting those words sink in for a couple of moments. "In chains??" He was proud that he had kept his voice down. "Let's pretend that we entertain this idea of chains, or taking him back, would it be a fair trial?" Thor tilted his head a little, not quite getting Tony's meaning. "Will he be judged by a jury of his peers?"

"It will be a private affair," Thor told him. "Father is the highest authority of the Realms."

"So, not a fair trial then," Tony concluded. "I mean, do you guys even have all the facts? All the evidence? Because I would think that after seeing Loki being controlled, then seeing him turn things around, would make you reconsider taking him back. At least in chains. But as I said before, that was just entertaining the idea, because he's not going to be leaving."

"Anthony," Thor started with a frown, but Tony held up a hand.

"It's not happening," Tony shook his head a little. "You might as well just hand him the dagger to end his life if you take him back, specially if you take him back in chains. I won't allow it. Tell Dad sorry, but I'm saying no." He turned before Thor could say anything else, going back over to Loki and Naiden, settling back down in his seat, head leaning on Loki's shoulder.

"Anything I should be concerned about?" Loki asked calmly, fingers starting to card through Tony's hair.

"Not a thing," Tony assured him. "Well, maybe you should be thinking about how you're going to conform to my modern Mortal lifestyle."

"It's a pain in the butt," Naiden mumbled, his eyes closed, feigning sleep against Loki's other side. He smirked when Tony pushed Naiden's knee with his foot.

"You get to sleep in your own room tonight," Tony mumbled, knowing that it wasn't going to happen, but the look on Naiden's face was mostly worth it.


End file.
